Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 81

#81 Breath (12)

‘What is that?’

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

A tablet stand was installed on Song-yi’s bed.

A tablet PC was attached to the end of a jointed device, facing Song-yi’s face.

She was lying down, taking an online lecture.

Next to her, Song-yi’s mother was watching over her.

‘She’s making her study only 6 hours after surgery?’

That’s absurd.

She should be in the intensive care unit!

As I thought that and was about to enter the room to stop her, a nurse passing by in the hallway gently grabbed my arm and whispered.

“Doctor, just leave her alone.”

“……?”

“We already tried to stop her earlier. We told her that she should rest since she just had surgery… but we only got cursed at by the guardian.”

Sigh.

A sigh escaped me involuntarily.

Of course, I had already thought of a way to deal with this situation.

“I’ll talk to her nicely.”

I whispered to the nurse and entered the room.

Then, Song-yi’s mother glared at me and asked.

“Doctor. What’s wrong? Song-yi needs to study now.”

It was a tone that told me not to interfere.

I glanced at Song-yi’s face, who was lying down.

…She looked miserable.

She couldn’t say it, but with the pain after surgery and the stress of studying, her expression was terrible.

“Song-yi needs to do breathing exercises.”

I gave a plausible reason.

Of course, it wasn’t a lie.

In the case of lung resection [surgical removal of part or all of a lung], there is something to be most careful about on POD (Post-Op Day) 0, 1, and 2.

‘Atelectasis [complete or partial collapse of the lung].’

In other words, we need to prevent the lungs from collapsing due to not breathing deeply.

It is important to restore the lungs to their normal state with proper breathing exercises.

“Does it have to be done now?”

“Yes. It has to be done now.”

I said firmly.

In fact, she can rest on the first day, and breathing exercises can be started in earnest from tomorrow.

But…

Right now, Song-yi seems to need some time to breathe, even for a moment.

“Then I’ll go to the convenience store, so you can do that while I’m gone.”

Song-yi’s mother reluctantly packed her bag and got up from her seat, then said to Song-yi.

“Finish it quickly and watch the online lecture. Got it?”

Song-yi nods.

As soon as the guardian left the room, she let out a deep sigh as if she could finally breathe.

It was as if a leash that had been tightened was released.

“Hoo.”

I keep feeling that Song-yi’s expression is completely different when she is with her mother and when she is not.

The nurse peeked into the room and asked me.

“Dr. Seon, shall I bring you an inspirometer [a device used to measure the volume of air inhaled]?”

“Yes. Please.”

The nurse nodded to me and went to get the device.

I asked Song-yi.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m starving.”

“You can eat from tomorrow morning, so please bear with it a little longer.”

“Can I drink water?”

“Of course.”

“Hehe, I’m going to lose weight.”

A smile returned to Song-yi’s face.

I chuckled.

She’s happy about losing weight in this situation.

Soon, the nurse brought the breathing device, and Song-yi showed curiosity.

“What is this?”

“It’s a device that helps you practice breathing. Since it’s the first day, don’t overdo it, just breathe in as much as you can.”

I helped Song-yi sit up.

Song-yi put her mouth to the entrance of the breathing device and inhaled with difficulty.

Brrr―

The balls inside the breathing device barely rise about 5cm.

She’s still weak.

“Cough.”

Soon, Song-yi stopped inhaling and coughed, frowning.

It sounded like something was stuck in her throat.

I pulled out a tissue and brought it to Song-yi’s mouth.

Soon, remnants of phlegm mixed with blood came out with the cough.

I said worriedly.

“I don’t think you’re in good enough condition to study right now.”

“It’s okay. Even if I say that, my mom won’t listen…”

Song-yi wrinkled her nose and said.

“I have to study for the final exam as my mom says. It’s less than two weeks away… other kids will be studying at this time.”

If she says so…

I don’t have a good reason to stop her.

But I felt bitter.

Even though she’s a senior in high school, does she really have to be overworked like this?

* * *

My younger sister scoffed on the other end of the phone.

A call with my family after a long time.

When I told Seondo about what happened at the hospital, she suddenly attacked me.

“Was I?”

Was I?

I don’t remember well.

It’s been almost 10 years since my exam life…

Of course, it’s true that I overworked myself back then.

But, there’s a limit to everything.

I protested in a disgruntled voice.

“Still, the patient’s health recovery is the top priority. If I had surgery in my senior year of high school, I would have rested for a day or two.”

Then, my younger sister’s attack continued on the other end of the phone.

“It’s not cabbage, it’s either pear or jujube [a Korean idiom meaning ‘don’t try to force things’].”

A curse word flew right away.

My younger sister has a very rough mouth.

She should refrain from cursing now that she’s older.

I find it amazing that my second brother-in-law fell for and married such a sister.

“Anyway, why did you call?”

“Huh?”

I cut her off.

“I’m not interested.”

“I said no. And how do you know my type?”

Then, as if she had caught me, I heard a sarcastic voice from the other end of the phone.

Ugh.

A dark history is being revealed!

I hurriedly cut off the call.

“Why are you suddenly talking about a few years ago?”

Click.

I hung up the phone.

I refuse any further revelation of dark history.

“Why are you suddenly talking about when I was young?”

I grumbled.

Looking back, adolescence was a very harsh time.

The hormones are raging, but the gateway to becoming an adult is fierce.

Anyway, the teens are a complicated time in many ways.

* * *

7 p.m.

It’s the time of day when the day is coming to an end.

The heat is slowly dying down in the ward, which had been busy during the day.

The resident doctors, who had been squeezed all day in the operating room, also come up to the ward exhausted.

“Everyone, good job.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Quitting time.

It’s the moment when the resident doctors regain their energy.

Like any office worker, everyone has a happy expression when they return home from work.

Of course, there are also people who don’t have much change in expression.

For example, Song Yoo-joo.

“Were there any problems with the patients?”

As soon as Song Yoo-joo came up, she asked me.

She’s in plain clothes.

Usually, hospital people often look quite different in uniform and casual clothes…

There is almost no difference in image for Song Yoo-joo.

Should I say that she was born as a doctor from the beginning?

“If you have anything to ask before you leave, tell me quickly.”

I opened my memo and asked as if I had been waiting.

“Patient Kim Seon-shik was on a low-fat diet, but the drain color turned milky again. Should I switch to a non-fat diet?”

“Uh.”

“Patient Ahn Chi-hoon’s rate is getting faster, so should I increase the dose of herben (antiarrhythmic drug) [medication used to treat irregular heartbeats]?”

“Uh.”

I asked all the things I was curious about during the day like a machine gun.

Song Yoo-joo answers in one word.

It’s not because she’s annoyed, it’s just that this person’s tone is like this.

Only the essentials.

Information is concise.

“Done?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“I’m going.”

Swaeng―

Song Yoo-joo left without looking back.

Now, the remaining times are the time for the on-call residents and interns.

I was finishing the next day’s prescription at the station when Ryu Myung-in came running.

“Did Song Yoo-joo leave?”

“Yeah, just a moment ago.”

“Ah, damn… I had something to give her.”

Saying that, he took something out of his pocket.

Rumble.

Colorful lollipops spilled onto the table.

Another lollipop?

I chuckled.

“Hey, just do it once. I’m getting tired of it.”

“Th… really?”

“It only works once or twice. Why doesn’t your head work in this area when you’re so smart?”

Kooong.

The guy looks at me with a shocked expression.

“I… you’re the first person to tell me that my head doesn’t work. How can you say that to a genius like me…”

I smirked.

It’s subtly impactful.

Teasing this guy is a small pleasure in my thoracic surgery intern life these days.

“Stop talking nonsense and take care of tomorrow’s surgery pre-op (pre-operative preparation) [preparation before surgery]. You said there was one patient without a video reading earlier, right?”

“Okay.”

Ryu Myung-in grumbled and checked the radiology on-call in front of the monitor.

“Ha… Of all days, Dr. Choo Geun-deok is on radiology on-call today.”

Choo Geun-deok?

I’ve heard that name somewhere.

I recalled my memory.

It was a name that was often mentioned by other interns in the dormitory lounge.

Because the name was so unique, I couldn’t forget it even if I heard it once.

“Why is Dr. Choo?”

“This person answers the phone very harshly. I feel like I’ve become a criminal. It’s something they should do as their on-call duty.”

I remembered that when the interns started gossiping about Dr. Choo Geun-deok in the intern dormitory, all the interns became one while cursing together.

“I heard they ignore the interns when they go to ask for a reading?”

“That’s right. Yesterday, I went to get a chest x-ray reading. Then he looked at me like I was a bug. The way he talks is also awful.”

Saying that, Ryu Myung-in reproduces Dr. Choo Geun-deok’s tone.

“Hoo… If I become the hospital director, I’ll get rid of those kinds of people.”

“Didn’t you say that Song Yoo-joo looks at you like a bug and that’s attractive?”

Surprised by my words, Ryu Myung-in puts his index finger to his mouth.

“Shh― How can you talk about that here at the station?!”

I smirked.

Was it a secret?

It’s not like you’re showing it too much?

Anyway, the notoriety of Dr. Choo Geun-deok of the Department of Radiology was so well-known that I wanted to meet him once.

I was talking to Ryu Myung-in about various things when someone called me.

“Doctor. I think you need to check on Song-yi’s condition?”

The nurse approached with a worried expression.

What’s going on?