Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 63

#63 Isn’t Thoracic Surgery a First? (11)

“Why are you suddenly talking about cadavers? It’s creepy.”

Geun-wook grimaced.

Cadaver.

It refers to the bodies of those who donated their bodies for educational purposes.

All doctors undergo anatomy practice in their undergraduate courses to study anatomy.

“Ugh, talking about cadavers suddenly gives me the chills.”

Geun-wook shuddered, stroking his massive triceps.

He’s surprisingly timid for someone so big.

Then, Joong-won *hyung* [older brother or close male friend] stopped talking and asked, as if dumbfounded.

“Hey, why are you acting like such a scaredy-cat when you’re so huge?”

“I have trauma. I couldn’t eat properly during the anatomy practice, so I lost muscle mass.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Yes.”

It seems he was quite scared of the anatomy practice.

To think that Geun-wook, the muscle monster, couldn’t eat and lost muscle mass…

Even if a war broke out tomorrow, he’s the type to stick to his protein intake no matter what.

“Well, I was a bit scared at first too. The smell of formalin lingered in my nose for a while.”

“I even had nightmares for days after the practice. What about you, Seon-han?”

Geun-wook looked at me and asked.

I answered coolly.

“I liked it.”

“Huh?”

“It was good to see what I had only seen in books.”

“Weren’t you scared or anything?”

“Not at all.”

“Wow… you always look the most innocent among us, but you’re secretly scary. Sometimes I think you wouldn’t bleed even if I stabbed you.”

Is that so?

I scratched my cheek.

In fact, cadaver dissection is a sacred act.

Donating one’s body for research purposes is never an easy decision.

When I think about that, I feel grateful and solemn, so there’s no room to feel scared.

Of course, depending on individual tendencies, you might feel instinctive chills like Geun-wook.

Anyway, that’s not important right now.

“So, what did Ryu Myung-in do during the cadaver practice?”

“Just listen.”

We focused on Joong-won *hyung’s* words.

I thought it was a topic suitable for a spooky and eerie night.

“It happened four years ago, at the end of the anatomy practice.”

Joong-won *hyung* began to tell his story from his medical school days with excitement.

.

This practice takes place over a semester, and we dissect all parts of the body, including the arms, legs, and chest, with the face covered with a cloth.

“We were supposed to take pictures of the dissected parts, mark them, and submit them to the professor… and that day was the day we dissected the facial muscles and nerves.”

“Ugh, facial dissection…”

Geun-wook made a face as if he didn’t even want to think about it.

In fact, cadavers are generally not as scary as people imagine.

When you actually see them, they don’t feel like living people because they’ve been dried with chemicals.

A formalin-soaked corpse can look like a well-made ‘model’.

However, there is a moment when such a cadaver feels particularly ‘human’.

That is facial dissection.

It’s when you open the cloth covering the face and dissect the face as the final task of the semester.

Swoosh—

The moment the face, which had been covered with a cloth, is revealed.

You realize.

Ah, what I was dissecting was a real person.

Then, you offer a silent prayer of gratitude to those who donated.

“As you guys know, how complex are the facial muscles and nerves? Our group couldn’t find a few of the nerves that the professor told us to find.”

“So?”

“Well, I wasn’t too happy, but I thought it could happen. You guys know my personality, right?”

We nodded.

Joong-won *hyung* doesn’t obsess over grades.

He would have been grateful even if he got a B.

However, the problem was…

Ryu Myung-in was in the same group as Joong-won *hyung*.

“That bastard Ryu Myung-in was trembling because he thought his grade would be lowered because he couldn’t find it.”

“Ah.”

I can imagine it well enough.

Given Ryu Myung-in’s personality, he couldn’t have tolerated it.

Geun-wook and I, who are not from Yonsei University, were gradually drawn into Joong-won *hyung’s* story.

“Didn’t you say Ryu Myung-in was always first in every semester? He couldn’t have tolerated anything less than an A+.”

“That’s right. But what could he do? The practice results were already out. At that time, Ryu Myung-in’s expression… it’s hard to describe. His face was bloodless, and it looked like he was about to explode.”

Ah, I know what you mean.

That’s the expression I saw during the day.

The expression he had when Song Yu-ju scolded him, biting his lip and trembling.

His personality seems to be the same now as it was then.

“Anyway, leaving Ryu Myung-in trembling behind, I went back to the dorm and went to the shower room to wash off the formalin smell that was soaked into my body.”

I can vividly picture it.

The situations of that day.

We were gradually falling into his story.

“I went to the shower room, but for some reason, Ryu Myung-in wasn’t there! It was strange. Ryu Myung-in, who likes to be clean, would have come to the shower room right away.”

Joong-won *hyung’s* voice sank eerily.

“I thought he was tired and passed out in his room… but when I asked his roommates, they said they hadn’t seen him either?”

“Where did he go?”

“Well, later I found out that he secretly went back to the anatomy practice room alone.”

“Yes?”

“How did he get in there?”

Geun-wook and I asked with bewildered expressions.

“I don’t know. It’s still a mystery passed down through generations at Yonsei University. How he got into the locked building, whether he climbed through the window… anyway, he went to the practice room to find the nerve he couldn’t find. Even though they lock the anatomy practice room at 10 PM.”

“Wow… he’s a determined guy.”

“Yeah. That day, Ryu Myung-in’s true colors were revealed. I heard what happened that night from the security guard.”

The story was reaching its climax.

“The security guard couldn’t help but be surprised. On a dark night with drizzling rain, he heard a sound from inside the anatomy practice room… it was probably the most thrilling moment of his life. But soon, he took a courageous step. Step, step, step… and then he said cautiously.”

Thwack—

Lightning struck.

Ryu Myung-in’s face was revealed.

He was looking at the corpse’s face up close and smiling.

Because he was finally able to submit the dissection results he wanted in a photo.

“Think about it. A doctor alone at night, holding a knife and looking at the face of a corpse while smiling… how creepy would that be? The security guard almost fainted at that time and it was a mess.”

The story ended.

We were listening intently and then felt drained.

Geun-wook said, seemingly disappointed.

“Is that it?”

“Huh?”

“Hey, I was expecting something. I thought there would be a spectacular scene no less than a zombie movie… Shouldn’t the cadaver get up or something?”

“Hey, isn’t this a creepy episode enough?”

“I don’t know. It was fun, but I was a little disappointed. Like a slightly lacking amount of hair on a balding man…”

“No chicken for you.”

“Ah, no. My protein source!”

The two bickered.

I chuckled.

But, when I imagined the scene, it was definitely bizarre.

To think of breaking into the anatomy practice room alone at night… just to get a good grade?

It’s not a normal situation.

It seems that his obsession with ‘grades’ and ‘competition’ is beyond imagination.

“Anyway, did he get a good grade because of that?”

“Yeah. He resubmitted the dissection results to the professor, and our group ended up getting a good grade.”

“He must have been rumored to be crazy at school.”

“Who wouldn’t? After that day, everyone started calling Ryu Myung-in the grade ghost. I knew he was originally competitive, but no one knew it would be to that extent.”

A unique guy.

But, I understand.

When I get absorbed in something, I sometimes do things that others don’t do.

I nodded, thinking that way.

“Well… I guess it’s possible.”

“Hey, Seon-han, do you understand that situation?”

“A little.”

“Wow.”

“It’s true that only a crazy person can understand another crazy person.”

Huh?

Why am I crazy?

I made an unfair expression at Geun-wook’s words.

“What did I do, you jerk?”

“Hey, have you forgotten the Gangnam Station incident? I still get chills when I think about that day. Suddenly, he was like a possessed person, sticking a needle into the patient’s chest. I thought he was crazy!”

Ah, that.

I pouted.

Honestly, I have nothing to say.

Even I think it was reckless.

But it’s a bit unfair to be lumped into the same category as Ryu Myung-in.

Then, Joong-won *hyung* speaks as if defending me.

“Hey, still, Seon-han and Myung-in are a bit different kinds of crazy~!”

“No, *hyung*, you should have seen this guy’s eyes at Gangnam Station that time. I’m saying this now, but I really thought he was possessed by a ghost?”

“No, he’s a bit crazy, but he’s usually good at socializing, right? It’s just that he sometimes loses his mind and suddenly accelerates.”

In the meantime, he doesn’t deny the word crazy.

…How did my image become like this?

My internship life, is it okay like this?

“Hehe. Anyway, Ryu Myung-in will do anything to win in a competition. Seon-han, you be careful too. How do you know if he’ll do something to harm you?”

“Come on.”

I chuckled.

I tried to laugh off Joong-won *hyung’s* words nonchalantly.

But on the one hand, I feel a little uneasy.

‘It’s bothering me.’

Of course, I’m not worried about Ryu Myung-in harming me.

He wants to beat me purely with ‘skill’.

That means…

It seems unlikely that a *makjang* [Korean drama with extreme plot twists] drama-like situation will happen where he poisons my food or mixes up patient prescriptions at night.

‘The problem is that he can create variables in a crucial situation.’

I have to prevent the patient from suffering brain damage this month.

But…

The existence of Ryu Myung-in is an unpredictable variable.

In particular, I have no idea what changes the competitive spirit he is burning towards me will cause.

‘Well, there’s no need to worry in advance. I can handle whatever he does.’

Thinking that way, I got up from the armrest of the sofa.

Ring ring ring—

Just in time, the pager in my gown jacket pocket was ringing loudly.