Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 207

#207 Eagle Eyes, a Woman’s Touch, a Lion’s Heart (10)

The question was sudden.

For a professor to ask an intern’s opinion?

As I hesitated, the PR team leader in the driver’s seat burst out laughing.

“Haha… Professor Baek, you’re joking. Why ask an intern that?”

Then, Baek Yi-shin’s voice, devoid of amusement, came from the back seat.

“I’m not joking.”

“…Yes?”

“Approaching a patient from the perspective of is completely different from .”

At the unexpectedly serious answer, the PR team leader chuckled awkwardly.

“Ah, you’re not really suggesting a surgical method, but offering advice to Seon-han, who’s about to become a thoracic surgeon! Classic Professor Baek!” He tried to smooth things over.

However, I took Professor Baek Yi-shin’s question with utmost seriousness.

Perhaps this moment was the only chance to help patient Lee Seul-gi.

“If I were the surgeon…”

After gathering my thoughts, I said firmly, “Besides the three methods, I think we could consider other surgical approaches.”

Screech-

The PR team leader slammed on the brakes.

Under the gray sky, the red traffic light blazed.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was listening to you two and just…” The PR team leader apologized for the sudden stop, glancing at the back seat in the rearview mirror.

Then, he glanced at me.

His eyes conveyed that embarrassment.

Had I overstepped?

To such a bold opinion from an intern, Professor Baek Yi-shin offered no immediate response.

“…Another surgical method?”

After a moment, a sharp question broke the silence.

“Besides Rastelli, REV [Réparation à l’Étage Ventriculaire, or Ventricular Level Repair], and Nikaidoh that you mentioned, you propose something else?”

Baek Yi-shin’s voice was like a sharp scalpel, especially when discussing medical knowledge.

As the atmosphere turned accusatory, the PR head, in the driver’s seat, swallowed hard, looking at us with an awkward expression.

“Do you even properly understand the heart anatomy of a TGA [Transposition of the Great Arteries] patient before saying that?”

Professor Baek Yi-shin was right.

I was just a novice who had never witnessed pediatric heart surgery firsthand.

It was like learning heart surgery from a book—worse than learning about dating from a book.

In a normal situation, I should have backed down.

The PR team leader also glanced at me, signaling me to read the room.

But I had no intention of retreating. Having taken this step, stopping now would lead nowhere.

And I sensed… Professor Baek didn’t seem angry.

“Let’s hear it. How much do you know?”

His tone was sharp, but the underlying feeling was closer to curiosity.

“Yes, Professor. From my research, several surgical methods have been reported as modified forms of Nikaidoh…”

For the past few months, I had risked my life studying TGA.

It was difficult, but I read countless papers, gaining a wealth of knowledge.

“And?”

Suddenly, the car felt like a thoracic surgery office.

I calmly answered, “If the Nikaidoh surgery moves the aortic root, I thought there might be a way to move the pulmonary root.”

The light turned green.

While Professor Baek Yi-shin listened quietly, the car moved again.

For a few seconds that felt like minutes, Baek Yi-shin suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

“Looks like you’ve been doing your homework?”

“I looked up case reports and papers.”

“Not bad.”

He smiled, seemingly in a good mood, and added, “Did you know that the method you mentioned has never been performed in Korea?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Hmm.”

Toc, toc-

Professor Baek Yi-shin tapped the handle on the back seat, pondering, as if simulating something in his head.

Then the PR team leader jumped into the conversation.

“Doctors, sorry to interrupt… We’ve arrived!”

Though the conversation was unfinished, we had to get out of the car.

My heart was filled with regret.

If only we could have discussed TGA surgery a little longer…

I had a feeling that Professor Baek Yi-shin might find an unexpected clue.

* * *

“Okay, this way.”

We followed the PR team leader and soon faced the filming crew.

“Oh, hello!”

“Thank you for coming despite your busy schedules.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re grateful for arranging such a location.”

People from the broadcasting station looked at Baek Yi-shin with curiosity.

He was, after all, a famous figure.

Professor Baek Yi-shin, rumored to be dead at one point, seemed even more mysterious.

Meanwhile, the director paid attention to me and smiled contentedly.

“Wow, this will be a great scene, won’t it? The background is good, the model is good. It would be perfect if the content is good too! I hope selecting this location was worth it…”

The filming location was a cafe resembling a workshop.

The walls were all glass, revealing a large birch forest.

Did they rent it for the whole day?

Where tables would normally be, there were now full preparations for filming.

Several lighting fixtures with wide-open mouths.

Many staff members.

People checking microphones, holding reflectors, etc….

Supported by the broadcasting company’s production team, the filming equipment was professional.

‘I didn’t know it would be this grand….’

I was getting nervous.

I attached the microphone the staff gave me.

I had received a rough script the day before.

But my head was filled with the conversation in the car.

I didn’t know if I could concentrate on filming.

The aftermath appeared as a stutter from the first question.

“Thoracic surgery… ahem.”

My voice cracked when I tried to start.

In vulgar terms, a ‘삑사리’ [misfire].

I awkwardly cleared my throat, and a forced smile spread across the stiff filming set.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mr. Shin, don’t be nervous! Are you too stiff in front of your role model?”

I smiled at the crew’s encouragement and took a sip of water.

Maybe that scene would be edited and used sparingly.

“Let’s start again.”

Baek Yi-shin sat across from me, looking at me.

Was it my imagination?

His eyes seemed to show more interest than when we first met, perhaps due to our conversation in the car.

I cleared my throat and spoke with more confidence.

“You can’t talk about thoracic surgery without Professor Baek Yi-shin…”

As I brought up the perfunctory story, his eyes glazed over with boredom.

“…As such a thoracic surgeon, you must have saved countless patients. When did you feel the most rewarded?”

My question, written by the production team, ended.

Professor Baek Yi-shin’s reaction was lukewarm.

He was like a winter tree branch, dried up without moisture.

“What kind of question is that?”

“Yes?”

“When do I have time to feel emotions every time I save a patient? Who wrote such a useless question?”

I tilted my head.

Even if Baek Yi-shin seemed emotionless, surely there had been a rewarding moment as a doctor….

“…Are you saying you’ve never had such an overwhelming moment?”

When I asked carefully, Baek Yi-shin brought up something strange.

“What was the first thoracic surgery treatment record in Korean history?”

An irrelevant question.

It didn’t seem to relate to the conversation.

While I couldn’t answer, he continued.

“About a hundred years ago. It happened in front of Myeongdong Cathedral.”

Baek Yi-shin leaned back in his chair.

Light snowflakes were accumulating in the birch forest.

I decided to stop the scheduled questions and listen.

“A high-ranking official was stabbed. A stab wound below the second rib on the left. Arterial bleeding, lung damage, chest contusion, and traumatic pleurisy.”

“What happened?”

“The VIP patient received top-notch treatment at the Korean Hospital, recovered in about 50 days, and was discharged safely.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Really?”

At my reflexive answer, the corners of Baek Yi-shin’s lips turned up slightly.

“That patient’s name was Lee Wan-yong.”

Lee Wan-yong?

My eyes widened.

It was a name that anyone familiar with Korean history would recognize.

The most notorious traitor, who sold the country to Japan.

He was the first thoracic surgery patient in Korea.

“Are you talking about Eulsa Ojeok [The Five Traitors of Eulsa] Lee Wan-yong…?”