Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 444

445. Someone I Know?

Bang!

With a violent bang as the door flew open, his wife entered, eyebrows raised.

Thud!

Entering the study with an unusual expression, his wife snatched the wine glass from Shin Kyung-hae and placed it firmly on the desk.

“You, did you drink wine?”

“No, not yet. I was just about to, but you came in, so I couldn’t. Give me the wine glass.”

“Quiet and say ‘ah’.”

“Why are you like this? I don’t have any hidden ramen. Ah~”

Ignoring her husband’s words, his wife forcibly opened Shin Kyung-hae’s mouth and smelled his breath.

“You didn’t drink.”

“This woman, really! What’s wrong?”

“Get dressed. We have to go to the hospital. You have a call.”

Kim Mi-sook said, shaking Shin Kyung-hae’s phone, which she had left in the living room.

“An emergency call? Ha! Damn it!”

At the word ‘call,’ a curse naturally escaped Shin Kyung-hae’s mouth.

Since he lived close to the hospital, about 100 meters away, he was often called in for emergency cases.

Still, to have his small pleasure of enjoying a glass of wine and a movie ruined like this, he couldn’t help but be angry.

“It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous.”

“Again! Again! Your language is getting rough. Speak nicely. Huh!”

“Can’t I not go?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s SDH (subdural hematoma – a collection of blood on the surface of the brain). Go quickly.”

“If it’s SDH, it’s straight to surgery, right? I should have just drunk the wine.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get dressed and come out.”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have gone into psychiatry like you.”

“No. You wouldn’t have made it. Hurry up and get ready.”

“Why did I go to neurosurgery, raving about how my name is my destiny…”

Shin Kyung-hae, his happy time stolen, grumbled with a look of injustice as he went into the bedroom to change.

“I really don’t want to go. Should I tell a junior to do it?”

“Don’t say things that make no sense.”

“Right. It’s my fault for studying so hard to become a doctor, knowing this would happen. Who can I blame?”

“Seeing how long you’re talking, you really don’t want to go?”

“I don’t.”

“But it’s about saving a patient.”

His wife took her husband’s phone and tried to encourage him.

“That’s right. I shouldn’t waste what I’ve learned. I’ll go.”

“Honey?”

“What?”

Kim Mi-sook hurriedly called out to Shin Kyung-hae, who was about to put on his shoes at the entrance, and followed him.

“You’re not wearing pajama pants, are you?”

“Oh! You’re right.”

Even though he complained about not wanting to go, Shin Kyung-hae, who was actually in a hurry, had mistaken his dark pajama pants for his regular trousers.

He was, after all, a doctor.

“Damn it!”

Shin Kyung-hae quickly changed his pants and put on his shoes.

“Should I drive you?”

“No, just watch your drama. I’m going.”

“Save them!”

“Of course.”

As always, Shin Kyung-hae exchanged the customary farewell of saving lives with his wife and headed to the hospital.

* * *

“Hey! Where’s the patient?”

Shin Kyung-hae, having arrived at the hospital and changed into his work clothes, shouted as he made his way down to the emergency room.

“Professor, you’re here?”

The fellow [a doctor who has completed their residency and is undergoing further training in a subspecialty] greeted Shin Kyung-hae and approached him.

“Of course, I’m here. Would I go back home?”

“No, sir.”

The fellow, who had seen Shin Kyung-hae quite a bit, was somewhat immune to his gruff demeanor.

However, he knew he should be extra careful today because the professor had been called in on his day off, which meant he would be even more difficult than usual.

“You said it was urgent. Where’s the patient?”

“They’re arriving by helicopter now.”

“What! Helicopter?”

“Yes, I heard they hit a wild animal while driving on Heorak Island and sustained injuries.”

“They must have hit a wild boar.”

There were a few island villages nearby, including Heorak Island, so accidents like this happened occasionally.

Of course, it wasn’t common for a patient to arrive with SDH after colliding with a wild animal, but it wasn’t surprising in a hospital where all sorts of things happened.

“But they said the patient’s initial treatment was well done, so wouldn’t they have already had surgery?”

“Hey, are you kidding me? You said it’s SDH, right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“There aren’t enough specialists on Heorak Island or the nearby islands to perform that kind of surgery. Even with initial treatment, there’s not much they can do. And what initial treatment is there for SDH? The only real treatment is to open the skull and operate immediately. By the way, how long has it been since the accident?”

Shin Kyung-hae was worried that the patient’s brain would suffer from compression if too much time passed after the accident – the “golden time.”

“Anyway, did you contact the operating room?”

“Yes, Professor. I contacted everyone.”

“Professor, the patient has arrived.”

At that moment, the sound of medical staff announcing the patient’s arrival was heard, and the elevator doors opened, revealing Lee Joon-yeok with the paramedics. Kim Han-sol was also seen following behind him.

“Order an immediate CT scan and move the patient to the operating room first.”

As soon as Shin Kyung-hae saw Lee Joon-yeok, he wanted to move him to the operating room after reviewing the CT scan taken at OO Medical Center.

“Doctor, this patient has already had surgery.”

The paramedic, quickly conveying the patient’s condition, finally delivered the news of Lee Joon-yeok’s surgery.

“Yes?”

As soon as he heard that, he looked closely at Lee Joon-yeok’s head.

Shin Kyung-hae, who had been rushing to prepare for emergency surgery, finally noticed the surgical scar on the patient’s head.

“No. This is…”

It was clearly a scar from SDH surgery.

It was strange because the patient came from Heorak Island, and there shouldn’t be anyone there capable of performing such a surgery.

He was naturally surprised because he hadn’t been informed about Lee Joon-yeok’s surgery.

“What happened?”

“Hello. I’m the patient’s wife and guardian.”

The paramedics greeted them and left, and Kim Han-sol approached Shin Kyung-hae.

“Doctor, my husband had surgery, right?”

“I don’t believe there are any neurosurgeons at OO Medical Center.”

“Yes, it wasn’t a doctor from that hospital who did it, but another doctor. And this…”

Kim Han-sol held out her phone.

“Why this?”

“Ah! Just a moment.”

Seeing Shin Kyung-hae’s puzzled expression, Kim Han-sol tapped on a file in her messaging app.

-This is Kim Tae-kyung, who operated on patient Lee Joon-yeok.

Tae-kyung’s calm voice flowed from the phone.

-The patient’s estimated time of accident is 00:00, and he was transferred to OO Medical Center for a CT scan. After the scan, I assessed the patient’s symptoms.

Initially, I intended to transfer him to the mainland, but considering the patient’s limited window for successful intervention, I performed emergency surgery. The surgery started at 00:00, and the procedure involved…

While Lee Joon-yeok was being transported by helicopter to a nearby university hospital, Tae-kyung returned to the hospital and recorded all of the above.

He recorded everything about the surgery, from the techniques used to the medications administered, and then sent it to Kim Han-sol.

There was no real need to go to such lengths. However, since it wasn’t a neurosurgeon who had performed the surgery, he thought it would be helpful to the attending doctor to have an accurate account of the patient’s condition.

In fact, if he had had more time, he would have prepared a full patient transfer report, but the situation was so urgent that he replaced it with a recording.

“Dr. Go?”

After listening to the entire recording, Shin Kyung-hae looked at Lee Joon-yeok again and said to the fellow.

“Move this patient to the intensive care unit quickly. Report immediately if anything changes.”

“The surgery…”

“Look! He’s already had surgery. There’s no need to operate, so cancel the operating room.”

“Yes, Professor. I understand.”

The fellow moved patient Lee Joon-yeok to the intensive care unit, and Shin Kyung-hae spoke with Kim Han-sol.

“As you just heard, the patient does not need any further surgery at this time. We will monitor his progress in the intensive care unit, and he should regain consciousness within a few days if everything goes well.”

“Really? Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything to deserve that thanks. Patient Lee Joon-yeok survived thanks to the doctors who performed the surgery, not because of me. They saved him.”

Kim Han-sol recalled the faces of Tae-kyung and his friends.

“If you wait, the staff will inform you about visiting hours and answer any questions you may have.”

“Yes, thank you, Doctor. Please take good care of my husband.”

“Of course. We will do our best. Ah! Excuse me?”

Shin Kyung-hae, who was about to walk away, turned back to Kim Han-sol and asked.

“You mentioned that the doctor who operated on the patient wasn’t a neurosurgeon, correct?”

“Yes, they said he was a general surgeon.”

“I see. Then, I’ll see you again.”

Shin Kyung-hae walked down the hallway, deep in thought.

“A GS (General Surgery) specialist operated on SDH? That’s unusual… Who the hell is that crazy guy?”

He was both surprised and amazed that a doctor who wasn’t a neurosurgeon had saved a neurosurgery patient.

Shin Kyung-hae shook his head, wondering what kind of mindset would lead a general surgeon to even consider performing the surgery.

“I think they said Kim Tae-something, but I should have remembered the name. Anyway, he’s an amazing person.”

Shin Kyung-hae, heading to the intensive care unit, tried to recall the name he had just heard, but he couldn’t quite remember it.

“Ha!”

He chuckled in embarrassment, feeling ashamed of himself for complaining and reluctantly leaving his house.

“Because of some extraordinary doctor, I’m reflecting on my actions even though I didn’t do anything wrong.”

* * *

The next day-

Early in the morning, Lee Joon-yeok’s parents, who had been contacted by Kim Han-sol, personally prepared breakfast for the three doctors and delivered it to their accommodation before going to the hospital to see their son.

‘President, please be sure to give this to the doctors when they wake up.’

Lee Joon-yeok’s mother, deeply grateful to the people who had saved her grandson and son, insisted on preparing and delivering breakfast despite her emotional exhaustion.

After eating the heartfelt meal that reminded them of their own mothers’ cooking, the three visited OO Medical Center.

After expressing their gratitude and apologies to the director and medical staff who had assisted them, they headed to the hospital where Lee Joon-yeok was hospitalized.

Although they couldn’t see Lee Joon-yeok in the intensive care unit, they were able to greet his family and hear about his condition.

They learned that the surgery was successful, that Lee Joon-yeok’s condition was stable, and that he was expected to wake up without any complications.

The three were as happy as if it were their own family’s good fortune and left the hospital, taking a bus to Seoul from the terminal.

“This vacation feels like it will be an unforgettable experience in my life.”

“I still can’t forget the surgery scene. It’s so vivid in my mind.”

Park Jae-hyun said, looking out the window, and Lee Jae-hyun put his hand on his chest and continued.

“I felt a warm, emotional feeling rising up inside me at that time. I’ve never regretted not getting a specialist license, but I wondered if I should have pursued one after all.”

“It’s not too late now. There are people in the United States who get their specialist license at 52. Give it a try.”

“No way. Ah! That’s right. Tae-kyung?”

“Yeah.”

“Who did you call that night?”

“Yeah. I was going to ask, but I was too preoccupied to remember until now.”

Lee Jae-hyun and Park Joon-seok were curious about who he had called to arrange for a helicopter to come to the island in the middle of the night.

“I just asked someone I know for a favor.”

“Someone you know? Who?”

“It’s someone.”

“Oh, who is it?”

“Seriously, hyung [an honorific term used to address an older brother or male friend], this is the first time I’ve seen Tae-kyung act like this. We wouldn’t know them even if you told us their name. Right, hyung?”

“That’s right. Just tell us. Are they someone in the fire department?”

“No.”

“Then who is it?”

“No, why are you being so secretive? Tell us already.”