Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees The Future [EN]: Chapter 89

#89 Breath (20)

Song-yi’s face turns pale.

And for good reason.

Standing before her is none other than Song-yi’s mother, glaring daggers.

“Oh, Mom?”

Song-yi looks utterly surprised by her mother’s appearance.

I’m surprised too.

How on earth did she find out and rush all the way here?

I don’t think Song-yi would have mentioned anything at home…….

“How did you know to come here?”

“You thought I didn’t know your SNS [Social Networking Service] address, huh?”

“Gasp!”

Song-yi gasps.

Those three words are practically etched onto Song-yi’s face.

It seems her SNS account has been secretly monitored by her mother all along.

She probably got caught the same way when she went to the concert last time.

“I’ve been watching, trying to let it slide… but what? Even as a senior in high school, you can’t give up on Ban Jin-ho no matter what? Abandoning your real life to become a fangirl?”

Song-yi’s mother recites the exact words Song-yi wrote on SNS.

Song-yi’s expression visibly freezes like stone.

The three greatest nightmares of teenagers:

—Mom digging through my hard drive

—Mom digging through my SNS

—Mom digging through my texts

And having it all displayed before your eyes is nothing short of torture.

“You’re a senior in high school with exams coming up, and you’re loitering around a place like this when you should be at the academy? Have you lost your mind?”

Song-yi hesitates, then answers in a subdued voice.

“Mom, I was just going to watch the performance for a bit and then go to the academy… really.”

“Oh, sure you were.”

“I’m telling the truth!”

“How can I believe you? It hasn’t even been that long since you secretly went to a concert and ended up with a hole in your lung!”

“Ah, lower your voice… I’m so embarrassed, seriously.”

Song-yi’s face turns red.

Of course, most people are too engrossed in the performance to notice what’s happening here.

Unable to bear it any longer, I step between them.

“Song-yi’s mother!”

Song-yi’s mother whips around to face me.

“Song-yi, I called her to the hospital. Let’s go somewhere a bit quieter and talk.”

I lead them both to a less crowded area.

“Doctor, what is it that’s so important that you have to call a busy senior in high school here? If Song-yi fails her exams, are you going to take responsibility?”

Song-yi’s mother starts to berate me.

“I can’t take responsibility for her exams, but as a doctor, I can speak with certainty.”

“About what?”

“Song-yi needs to get checked out immediately.”

“Oh, what kind of checkup does she need now? It’s only been a few days since she was discharged from the hospital.”

She doesn’t even listen to what I have to say.

It feels like I’m talking to a brick wall.

I sigh softly and say,

“If you keep acting like this, things could get serious. Do you know what Song-yi’s heart rate and respiratory rate are right now, and how much they differ from the normal range?”

Flinch.

Song-yi’s mother pauses at my lowered voice.

But she still doesn’t seem willing to change her mind.

Instead, she stubbornly insists.

“Ugh, no way! Do you know how much the special academy lecture scheduled for tonight costs?”

“…….”

“Song-yi, come here. The academy is starting soon, we don’t have time to waste in a place like this.”

Song-yi’s mother says, grabbing her daughter’s wrist.

But then, Song-yi suddenly screams.

“Ugh! Stop it!”

We stare at Song-yi in surprise.

Wheeze, wheeze.

Song-yi is breathing heavily, as if agitated.

It’s a completely different side of her than her usual quiet self.

Already in poor condition, her complexion is becoming even paler as her emotions intensify.

“You… you just yelled at your mother?”

Song-yi’s mother stammers.

It seems this is the first time her daughter has ever raised her voice at her like this.

But Song-yi’s words don’t stop there.

“I can’t breathe when I’m with Mom!”

“What?”

Crack.

This time, Song-yi’s mother’s expression freezes.

Anger, disappointment, surprise…….

A multitude of emotions flash across her face in an instant.

“I’m still in pain after the surgery. But I was pretending to be okay because I felt sorry for Mom!”

“…….”

“I know I’m a student preparing for exams, but I’m still a person. Have you ever even once considered things from my perspective?”

“…….”

“Of course, I know it wasn’t right for me to lie this time, but… but…….”

Song-yi’s voice trembles.

It’s like a dam that’s been holding back water has finally burst.

“Just… can’t you just let me breathe sometimes?”

Plop, plop.

Tears finally fall.

It’s as if the emotions she’s been suppressing in her heart for so long are now pouring out.

But even amidst all that, Song-yi’s breathing sounds strange.

A dirty, gurgling sound accompanies each breath, as if something is stuck in her throat.

“Cough, cough.”

“Oh my, what’s wrong? Song-yi!”

Only then does Song-yi’s mother look at me in alarm.

“D-Doctor, what’s wrong with her?”

“Just a moment.”

I push past the flustered Song-yi’s mother and check Song-yi’s condition.

Blood is mixed in with Song-yi’s cough.

‘This is bad!’

I sense it immediately.

This is serious!

Song-yi is a patient I’ve been personally monitoring since her surgery.

The blood-tinged phlegm I’m seeing now is not normal.

Blood-tinged phlegm after surgery should gradually fade over time…….

‘This isn’t just a symptom that appears after a lobectomy [surgical removal of a lobe from an organ, here the lung]. Something big has definitely happened to her lung!’

Perhaps the symptoms are progressing faster than expected!

Just then, cheers erupted from the stage.

“Kyaaaa—”

Ban Jin-ho, having thrown off his hat, is holding a microphone and singing.

He’s leading the stage, high-fiving the kids in the front row.

In the midst of the crowd’s enthusiastic cheers, Song-yi’s coughs go completely unheard.

“Song-yi. Let’s go to the emergency room. Can you walk?”

Song-yi, her face pale, barely manages to nod.

I support Song-yi.

Her body is hot and she’s covered in cold sweat.

I haven’t taken her temperature, but it must be at least 38℃ [100.4°F].

‘Torsion [twisting of an organ] has already started. Fast treatment is the answer!’

I hurried my pace, supporting Song-yi.

If we’re late, Song Yu-ju said it could even lead to death from sepsis [blood poisoning].

But the situation wasn’t easy.

A huge crowd was gathering to see Ban Jin-ho, who had appeared just in time.

“Excuse me, please make way!”

Uproar—

I pushed through the crowd like a salmon swimming against the current.

Then Song-yi’s mother hurriedly followed me and asked.

“Doctor. Why is our Song-yi suddenly like this? Huh?”

The overbearing attitude from just a moment ago is nowhere to be found.

Song-yi’s breathing, her complexion, and the beads of sweat on her forehead were all different from usual…….

It wasn’t the daughter Song-yi’s mother knew.

“Hey, Yang Song-yi. What’s wrong…… Let’s go to the hospital. No, this is the hospital.”

Song-yi’s mother is rambling, seemingly out of her mind.

She even clings to me, on the verge of tears.

“I was wrong. I’m sorry, Doctor. Please help our Song-yi. I’m begging you like this.”

She’s about to get on her knees and beg me.

I take Song-yi’s mother’s hand off my arm and say,

“Calm down. The outpatient clinic is closed now, we need to go to the emergency room.”

“E-Emergency room?”

“I’ll take Song-yi, so please go to the reception desk over there and start the emergency room registration!”

Song-yi’s mother nods, looking like she’s about to burst into tears at any moment.

* * *

Beep—

The emergency room door opens.

As I enter the emergency room with Song-yi, who is breathing heavily, everyone at the station turns to look.

Yeo Bong-cheol, who was on duty, spots me and his eyes widen.

“Shin Seon-han, is that you? What’s going on?”

“Doctor, please take a look at this patient!”

I shouted urgently.

Doctor Yeo Bong-cheol looked at me strangely.

Then he looked at the patient I was supporting and said.

“Wait a minute, she looks familiar…… Could she be that patient who came in with pneumo(pneumothorax [collapsed lung], pneumothorax) before?”

I nodded.

I’m reminded once again that Doctor Yeo Bong-cheol has a good eye.

The emergency room is a place where hundreds of patients come and go every day, and yet he remembers her face.

“She’s a patient who had surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, so I think she needs to be examined!”

“Where’s the guardian and you brought her?”

“The guardian is registering the patient now.”

“What’s the chief complaint?”

“Hemoptysis [coughing up blood] with fever. I think it’s urgent to take an X-ray!”

We laid the panting Song-yi on a cot.

“Is the Department of Thoracic Surgery notified? Did you contact TS (Thoracic Surgery) and bring her?”

Doctor Yeo Bong-cheol thought that since I brought her, the Department of Thoracic Surgery would have been contacted.

“No. I just went to see the charity performance in the lobby and brought her because she looked strange. I’ll contact them now!”

“What? You were watching a performance?”

Doctor Yeo Bong-cheol senses that the situation is unusual.

“I’ll examine the patient and make a formal notification, so Seon-han, you tell them in advance!”

“Yes, I understand!”

Yeo Bong-cheol urgently begins to examine Song-yi.

Meanwhile, I called Song Yu-ju, who was the doctor on duty today.

“Doctor, this is intern Shin Seon-han. Do you remember the patient Yang Song-yi who was discharged a few days ago? This child is tor…….”

Oops!

I almost said torsion.

The examination hasn’t even been done yet.

If I say torsion, I’ll be questioned about how I knew.

There’s no way I, a mere intern, could know that her lung had turned just by looking at her face!

No, no thoracic surgeon could guess that just by looking at her face.

Unless, by some chance, the retired God of Medicine returned to the medical field…….

Song Yu-ju’s questioning voice came from the receiver.

I quickly changed my words and answered.

“No, she has hemoptysis, a fever, and a rapid respiratory rate, so I brought her to the emergency room.”

“Brought her from where?”

“I happened to run into her while watching a charity performance.”

“Performance?”

“…….”

“I’m going.”

Click—

Song Yu-ju said briefly and hung up.

In the meantime, another intern came and performed an electrocardiogram, and a chest X-ray and blood test were performed.

* * *

After a while.

After taking an X-ray, Song-yi returned to the emergency room bed.

She looks a little better than before as she lies in bed and rests.

But we can’t rest assured until the test results come out.

“Song-yi. How are you feeling now?”

I asked Song-yi, who was staring intently at the ceiling.

Then, after a while, an unexpected answer came from Song-yi’s mouth.