Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 50

#50 The Marine in the ICU (10)

It was an old baseball.

The yellowed ball clearly showed its age.

I smiled and asked,

“Did your father like baseball?”

“Yes. His dream was to play baseball with his son.”

The man said with a wistful smile.

“I think it was when I was in elementary school. My father tried to teach me how to play catch. I remember getting angry and asking how I could play baseball with hands like this.”

“…….”

“That night, my father came home drunk and cried next to me while I was sleeping… Ugh.”

Rub, rub.

The man rubbed his eyes.

He seemed overwhelmed by the sudden rush of old memories.

I quietly smiled and took the baseball he offered.

“Thank you. It will be very helpful to the patient.”

“Yes. I appreciate it.”

“Will you come again?”

“I will.”

The man who answered seemed somehow relieved.

Could it be that the emotions he had suppressed for ten years had finally found some release?

After the guardian left, I placed the baseball in the patient’s hand.

An old man who had to live with the scars of war for the rest of his life.

To him, this baseball might symbolize a simple, ordinary happiness.

“Will this help?”

“Well… I don’t know for sure, but it couldn’t hurt, right? His son said he’ll visit again, too.”

While Cha Yuri and I were talking.

Twitch—

The patient’s finger, which was holding the baseball, moved.

Whether it was just my imagination or not, the patient’s breathing and complexion seemed more stable.

“He seems to be having a good dream,” Cha Yuri said, pleased.

Perhaps he was playing catch with his son in a peaceful park in his dream.

Then, Doctor Byun passed by and grumbled.

“Ahem, ahem… Isn’t bringing outside items into the ICU usually against protocol?”

“This is an exception.”

“No. What if he thinks that baseball is a grenade and tries to throw it again?”

The nurses giggled at Doctor Byun’s grumbling.

“Don’t worry about pointless things. And Doctor Byun, go shave your head already.”

“Wow, are you nurses ganging up on me right now?”

* * *

End of May.

After that, Grandpa Attacker’s condition rapidly improved.

Whether it was because of Doctor Ma Dong-seop’s quick decision to start ventilator treatment, or because of his son’s visit.

On the morning of the third day after returning to the ICU, the ventilator could be removed.

“Grandpa, are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“Did you sleep comfortably last night?”

“Of course. I had a very good dream.”

“That’s a relief.”

I smiled as I disinfected his chest tube.

After finishing ventilator treatment, the Attacker patient showed no signs of delirium at all.

Until then, delirium had occurred every night, but he had improved so miraculously.

Now the nurses could relax and feel relieved.

When I finished disinfecting and returned to the station, Doctor Byun muttered as if he felt wronged.

“No, I don’t understand… Can he really get so much better all of a sudden just because his family visited once?”

Doctor Byun’s tone was one of utter disbelief.

I had to hold back my laughter as I looked at his face.

“What are you looking at, you punk.”

Doctor Byun shaved his head.

Of course, it wasn’t a complete shave, but an agreement was reached for a short, chestnut-like haircut.

Still, everyone agreed that it looked much neater than his usual greasy hair.

“Your hair looks good, senior.”

“Shut up.”

“You didn’t have to shave it.”

“I made a bet, so I have to keep my promise.”

Doctor Byun muttered solemnly.

He seemed to have his own principles.

The nurses who passed by laughed and offered a word each.

“It’s almost summer, so it looks cool and nice, Doctor.”

“It suits you well.”

“R-really?”

Doctor Byun grinned.

I wondered if he was simple-minded….

Seeing his expression, I couldn’t help but laugh.

I couldn’t help but think that he was a character that was hard to hate.

Soon it was time for guardian visitation.

The son now came to visit almost every day.

And every time he came, he always asked us about the patient’s condition.

“So… how is my father…?”

“He’s much better. We removed the ventilator today, so you’ll be able to talk comfortably.”

Nurse Cha Yuri said with a bright expression.

The delirium symptoms disappeared as if they were a lie, and the recovery was naturally accelerating.

In the end, the future had changed.

The first words that the patient uttered after finishing ventilator treatment and removing the tube from his mouth were his son’s name.

That day, the reunion between Grandpa Attacker and his son during visiting hours brought tears to our eyes.

And the next day.

The patient was transferred to the general ward and recovered without any major events.

* * *

That evening.

I ran into Nurse Cha Yuri, who was leaving work, in front of the door.

“Doctor Seon, aren’t you leaving work yet?”

“Yes, I’m about to….”

I was a little surprised before I finished answering.

Because of Nurse Cha Yuri’s appearance.

Her vibe is definitely different when she’s wearing a nurse’s uniform versus casual clothes, but it’s especially noticeable today.

Her long, loose hair and slightly loose t-shirt and tight jeans suited her very well.

“Are you going out?”

“It’s Friday evening! I have plans with my friends.”

Cha Yuri smiled and nudged me with her elbow.

“Doctor Seon, don’t get too caught up in hospital work, and have fun in moderation. You’ll get burnout later.”

“I will.”

“By the way, Doctor Seon, I guess we won’t see each other anymore? I have 3 days off until the end of the month.”

The nurses’ schedules are arranged somewhat irregularly.

And this week is my last week working in the ICU.

Today is the last day that Cha Yuri and my work hours overlap.

“Thank you for the past month.”

“Sigh, I had fun for a month thanks to Doctor Seon.”

We spoke almost simultaneously and smiled at each other.

Cha Yuri looked regretful.

I felt the same way.

It was the first time I had become so close to a nurse.

“Your goal of becoming a surgeon at our hospital is still the same, right?”

“Of course.”

“That’s a relief. Then we’ll be able to see each other often in the future, right?”

“If I can survive in this hospital.”

I exaggerated.

Then Cha Yuri nudged me and laughed.

“Hey, why are you acting like that when you’re going to do well? I’m sure Doctor Seon will become a good surgeon.”

Cha Yuri always encouraged me like this.

Not only that, but she also told me about various things about working in the ICU for the first time.

She is someone I am grateful for in many ways.

“Oh, right. I almost forgot to tell you… You can’t tell anyone about the chicken feet restaurant! It’s my secret place.”

Cha Yuri whispered.

I wondered why she was saying it with such a serious expression.

I chuckled and said.

“I have something to ask of you too.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t drink more than three bottles of soju [Korean distilled rice liquor]. Nurse Cha Yuri, you’re weak with alcohol, so you fall asleep quickly.”

“Why, are you worried?”

“A little.”

I said honestly.

Then Cha Yuri stared at me.

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you keep going out for drinks with me in the future?”

She suddenly came on strong.

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

A mischievous expression appeared on Cha Yuri’s face.

“I’m just kidding.”

Cha Yuri laughed and nudged me with her elbow before disappearing with a light step.

Looking at her retreating figure, I felt a strange tingling in my cheeks.

I meet so many people at the hospital, and some of them feel special.

I think I will often meet her in the future.

* * *

“I’m home.”

“Oh, son?”

Late evening.

My father was closing the seafood restaurant.

He looked surprised at my sudden visit.

“Oh my. What brings our busy doctor here?”

“I just wanted to have a drink with you, Dad.”

I raised the black plastic bag I was holding in my hand.

I don’t know why, but I was thinking about my father today.

My father looked a little surprised, then sniffed and smiled.

“Let’s see… We have soju. We need something to eat with it.”

“I bought it.”

“What is this? Why chicken feet?”

“A nurse I work with introduced me to it, and it’s quite delicious.”

I spread out the super spicy chicken feet that Cha Yuri had introduced me to on the table.

The red glaze glistened.

A cool evening breeze.

Delicious food and alcohol.

And family.

What more could I ask for?

We smacked our lips and opened the soju bottle.

“By the way, what’s going on? It’s not like you, son. You don’t even touch alcohol unless it’s a special day….”

“Just because.”

“Hehe. That’s something. To think that the day would come when my son would ask me to have a drink….”

My father swallowed the soju with a happy expression.

And he put the chicken feet in his mouth.

3 seconds later.

“Cough, cough. Spit, spit.”

My father spat out the chicken feet.

And he looked at me with suspicious eyes.

He looked as if he had almost been poisoned.

“Son… are you trying to kill me?”

“It’s spicy, but it’s addictive once you start eating it.”

I smiled awkwardly and tore off a piece of chicken foot.

And soon spat it out.

That’s strange. Why doesn’t it taste the same as it did then?

It seems to taste best when you’re having a hard time.

Or maybe Cha Yuri hypnotized me that day.

* * *

One day in the last week of May.

Professor Eom Seo-yong looked at his hair in the mirror.

No matter how hard he tried to manage it, his hair only became thinner as the days went by.

When he was young, having a wide forehead sometimes sounded like a compliment….

Now, the few remaining strands of hair felt so precious.

‘You mustn’t get stressed. Stress is the enemy of hair loss!’

Professor Eom Seo-yong always looked in the mirror and made a resolution before going to work.

But it is impossible to be free from stress in hospital life.

Wasn’t surgery already famous for being difficult?

Among them, the most stressful was definitely Byun Gyu-nam.

‘Ugh, that troublemaker.’

Doctor Byun Gyu-nam.

He was the most troublesome of the residents he was in charge of.

When he first applied to surgery, he seemed to be a reasonably bright talent….

It was basic for him to be late in the morning.

He was often unable to answer the questions he was asked.

He often slurred over the work he was told to do.

As a result, the professor gave up on Byun Gyu-nam at some point.

But….

That Doctor Byun had been changing little by little recently.

Suddenly, he shaved his head and came in, and he began to seem like a different person.

The professor couldn’t help but be puzzled.

‘That’s strange. Why did he suddenly become diligent?’

In recent days, Doctor Byun’s attitude has changed noticeably.

He was no longer late for rounds, and he began to check the patient’s condition perfectly.

It was as if he was filming a drama [implying he was acting].

What on earth had happened in the past month?

Professor Eom Seo-yong couldn’t help but feel it was a mystery.

“Let’s see. This month’s intern evaluation is….”

Professor Eom Seo-yong checked the intern evaluation approval pop-up on the computer in his office.

“Hmm?”

His eyes suddenly widened.

It was because of the intern evaluation form submitted by Byun Gyu-nam.

The intern evaluation form he wrote contained strange content.