Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 39

#39 I See You (6)

Whoosh—

It felt as if all my senses were being broken down into cellular units and then reconstructed.

And the next moment.

I was somewhere other than the cafe.

An intensive care unit.

Looking at the dark sky outside the window and the dim lights, it seemed to be nighttime.

But a patient was being moved, wrapped in a white sheet.

A person in a black suit wearing a mask was pulling the mobile bed, trying to go outside.

‘…What’s going on?’

I looked around.

Some family members were crying and following the bed, and behind them, I could see Teacher Byun Gyu-nam.

Next to him, I could see Nurse Cha Yu-ri, and for some reason, her eyes were red.

I was soon able to grasp the situation.

‘Expiration (death).’ [Medical term for the end of life.]

Someone had clearly died in the intensive care unit.

Perhaps it was a patient I knew.

I slowly approached to see the patient’s face.

But the patient’s face, covered in a white cloth, was not visible.

Swish—

I reached out to lift the cloth.

But my hand passed through it helplessly, as if it were a transparent hologram.

And the next moment.

Whoosh—

I returned to reality as if I had been splashed with cold water.

* * *

“Doctors originally get tired when they get too close to patients. You have to keep a moderate distance, like me… Are you even listening to me right now?”

Teacher Byun, sitting across from me at the cafe, continued to speak.

“…Yes.”

I answered Teacher Byun appropriately, while on the other hand, I was thinking about the future I had just seen.

.

.

To summarize, someone died at night and was carried out covered in a white cloth. And Teacher Byun and Nurse Cha Yu-ri watched it.

The end.

Damn it, are you kidding me?

How am I supposed to do anything with only this much clue!

I don’t know the exact date or time.

I have no hint how anyone dies.

It’s not just one or two people; more than 10 patients are all in critical condition….

“I’m going crazy.”

“Huh?”

“Ah… It’s nothing.”

I blurted out to myself without realizing it. I quickly glossed over it to avoid prolonging the conversation.

After a while.

I went up to the station and looked at the duty schedule.

Let’s think.

Clearly, in the dream, Byun Gyu-nam and Nurse Cha Yu-ri were seen together even though it was night.

In other words, it means that Teacher Byun Gyu-nam’s duty and Nurse Cha Yu-ri’s night shift overlap.

Then….

‘May 11th and 22nd.’

I checked the calendar.

Let’s secure duty on this day first. Maybe I can prevent the mishap!

I picked up the phone.

“Hey Yoon-sung, are you busy? Is it okay to talk? I was wondering if we could change the duty….”

That’s how the days passed, and the morning of the 11th approached.

* * *

Step by step.

I went to work with hollow eyes.

I couldn’t sleep a wink.

I couldn’t sleep because I was imagining all sorts of things about which patient would die and how.

MI (Myocardial Infarction) [Heart Attack]?

PTE (Pulmonary Thromboembolism) [Blood clot in the lungs]?

I thought about various complications that could occur after surgery.

But it was too difficult to predict the future with only what I learned in medical school.

Should I just wait for the CPR broadcast to sound and run quickly?

Or should I just stay up all night in the surgical intensive care unit….

If I tell Teacher Byun Gyu-nam, will this person be able to help me……?

With these thoughts, I had to toss and turn on the bed in the dormitory all night.

“Seon-han ssaem [Korean term for ‘teacher’ or ‘doctor’], what’s wrong? You don’t look good!”

Nurse Cha Yu-ri, whom I ran into on the way to the intensive care unit, asks in surprise.

She was in plain clothes, perhaps finishing her night shift and going home.

I greeted her roughly and passed her like a zombie.

‘I have to prevent the future this time, no matter what….’

As soon as I arrived at the station, I opened the patient chart on the computer.

Click, click—

I bit my lip and clicked the mouse anxiously.

Clearly, one of them will be in danger of dying, but I can’t predict it at all.

I have no choice but to look at them one by one for now.

<23-year-old male patient hospitalized with multiple traumas and receiving ventilator treatment>

This patient was said to be improving rapidly at yesterday’s rounds….

<54-year-old female patient who underwent stomach cancer surgery>

This patient has underlying conditions of hypertension and hyperlipidemia, but….

Will this patient die tonight……?

I paused as I turned the charts of each patient like that.

.

Honestly, it’s highly likely.

Because the condition is already as bad as it can get.

In a word, it’s like a time bomb.

‘If Grandma Kim Hye-jeong dies, what can I do for her?’

I thought so and approached the patient.

The grandmother’s complexion looks worse today.

“Grandma, how are you feeling today?”

I asked carefully.

Then the grandmother raises her hand and points to something.

Does she have something to say?

I took a pen and handed it to the grandmother along with the paper.

< I 'M OK >

The grandmother wrote that in crooked handwriting.

Grandma is as cute as ever.

But her physical condition does not look good at all.

Looking at the chart, there are records of vital signs fluctuating several times last night and early this morning.

The reading of the CT scan taken a few days ago is also not good. This is because colon cancer has metastasized throughout the peritoneum [lining of the abdominal cavity].

“Grandma, cheer up. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

I held the grandmother’s small, wrinkled hand tightly.

Then the grandmother smiled.

It was a difficult and faint smile, as if squeezing a drop of sap from a dry old tree.

* * *

7:30 p.m.

The second visiting time of the day begins.

Soon, guardians wearing masks gather next to each patient.

But today, no one visits Grandma Kim Hye-jeong.

“Doesn’t the grandmother have a guardian visiting?”

When I asked in a small voice, Teacher Byun Gyu-nam, who was sitting next to me, nodded.

“Oh, it seems like they used to come every day at first because she’s been here for a long time, but they’ve been quiet these days?”

“…I see.”

I made a bitter expression.

Well, it wouldn’t be easy for a guardian to keep visiting for 70 days.

But not visiting even once for more than a week is a bit….

“That’s too much.”

“Huh?”

“No matter what the circumstances, how can you abandon your family like that for so long? You don’t even know when they’re going to die.”

I said in a nervous voice.

Then Teacher Byun laughs and says.

“You don’t have any experience with a family member being hospitalized in the intensive care unit for a long time, do you? Originally, it’s not easy for families to visit every day. Especially after becoming a long-term patient like that, there are many cases where the guardian can’t come every day.”

Teacher Byun said that and tapped me on the shoulder.

“But why do you seem so edgy and sensitive these days? Relax, relax~ It’s not a problem you can do anything about.”

That’s right.

Teacher Byun is right.

I don’t know the family situation over there, and I’m not in a position to judge as I please.

Still, I’m angry for no reason.

Why?

I was angry at the guardians I didn’t even know.

‘If the guardian comes to visit, the grandmother might gain a little strength mentally….’

Whoa.

I sighed and calmed my mind.

I hope nothing happens to Grandma Kim Hye-jeong tonight.

* * *

I stayed in the ICU late that night.

I quickly handled other calls and stayed only in the surgical intensive care unit.

Teacher Byun asks.

“Huh? Seon-han, were you originally on duty today?”

“Ah, I had some personal business… so I changed the date a bit.”

“You rascal. Do you like this senior so much? How much do you like me that you even changed your duty to be with me?”

Teacher Byun says that and smiles.

The interpretation is better than the dream…….

Looking at it, this person’s personality is always the same.

It may be frustrating to see from the side, but the person himself is carefree, so the happiness index will be high.

“By the way, I have a serious concern. Which is more delicious, Gochon or Nene?” [Popular Korean fried chicken brands.]

Saying that, he slides two chicken delivery flyers in front of me.

It’s a loss of words.

Not knowing how others feel…….

Now is not the time for chicken!

“We’re going to eat in the duty room with the residents later, do you want to eat with us?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Well, if an intern eats chicken among the residents, they’ll get indigestion.”

Teacher Byun smiled and disappeared into the duty room.

I rubbed my tired eyelids.

I feel twice as tired because I’ve been on edge all day.

“Seon-han teacher, aren’t you going down to sleep?”

Teacher Cha Yu-ri, who came back to work for the night shift, comes and asks.

“Ah, I just want to be here today.”

“Is there anything you’re worried about?”

“Actually, I’m a little worried about Grandma Kim Hye-jeong. I also saw the CT results this morning, and they weren’t very good.”

“Ah…….”

When the name of patient Kim Hye-jeong comes out, Cha Yu-ri’s pupils shake.

She hesitates and tries to say something to me.

“Actually, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes?”

“Actually, Grandma Kim Hye-jeong’s guardian contacted us by phone….”

What’s going on?

The atmosphere is different from usual.

Originally, Teacher Cha Yu-ri wouldn’t speak so hesitantly.

At that time.

Beep beep beep—

At the sound echoing from somewhere, I jumped out like a spring.

Where is it?

Bed number 5!

‘It’s Grandma Kim Hye-jeong!’

Click!

I quickly ran to check on the patient.

The smile I saw this morning was not on the grandmother’s face.

She was breathing hard, but she couldn’t open her eyes.

Blood pressure, which was barely maintaining in the 90s, is dropping to the 80s.

I shouted urgently to Nurse Cha Yu-ri.

“Patient Kim Hye-jeong’s vital signs are strange?!”

“Ah, that’s…….”

“Please contact Teacher Byun Gyu-nam quickly!”

I took off my gown and prepared to perform CPR.

Beep beep beep!

In the meantime, the patient’s blood pressure in the monitor continues to drop.

70—

60—

The blood is rapidly draining from Grandma Kim Hye-jeong’s face.

“I think we should use epinephrine (cardiotonic) [Medication to stimulate the heart]…… Please do a CPR broadcast quickly!”

I climbed onto the bed to perform CPR.

At that time, Teacher Byun Gyu-nam walked over from afar.

“Teacher!”

I called Teacher Byun desperately.

I waited for him to do something quickly.

But Teacher Byun said indifferently without even raising an eyebrow.

“Seon-han, come down.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t do CPR.”

What?

What are you talking about?

I couldn’t help but doubt my ears.

The patient is dying, but you’re telling me to let go and do nothing?

But Teacher Byun said with a serious expression, unlike usual.

“That patient is DNR [Do Not Resuscitate].”

“……!!”

The moment I heard that word, I felt like my heart was pounding and falling to the floor.