You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 505

Amidst the background chatter of Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon, my phone rang, pulling me from my thoughts.

The subtle vibration was like an alarm, making me flinch as I answered.

It was Secretary Oh.

“Attorney, the surgery is over.”

I checked my watch, surprised by how much time had passed; an hour and a half already. I jumped up and headed for the elevator, Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon hurrying after me.

Arriving at the operating room, I saw Kang Soo-il and Baek Chan-geun talking.

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much.”

Kang Soo-il repeatedly bowed to Baek Chan-geun, and I knew from this that Kang Min-jae’s surgery had gone well.

Baek Chan-geun nodded to Kang Soo-il and left, while Kang Soo-il seemed to collapse into a chair, his strength completely gone.

As I watched, Secretary Oh, who had been listening with Kang Soo-il, approached me.

“Attorney, did you hear? The surgery went well. He’s being moved to the intensive care unit to monitor his condition, and then he’ll be moved to a regular room depending on his prognosis.”

“How long until he regains consciousness?”

“They said a day or two. Maybe sooner.”

Since the surgery went well, we had passed a critical point.

I had even considered the possibility of table death [death during surgery], so I breathed a sigh of relief.

Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon, who had been standing behind me, also sighed in relief, repeating how fortunate it was.

Then, I noticed Kang Soo-il sitting in a chair in front of the operating room, staring blankly into space.

I went over to him.

“Oh, Attorney… Did you hear? Min-jae’s surgery went well. It’s such a relief. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have been able to respond so quickly. I especially didn’t know that the Fire and Disaster Prevention Agency’s helicopter could be used for Min-jae. When you mentioned the helicopter, I was thinking about requesting the Myungdae Hospital helicopter, wondering how long it would take to get to Munyeok and back…”

Kang Soo-il seemed to have been under a lot of tension, even though he didn’t show it.

I was the one who had been rambling earlier, but now Kang Soo-il was muttering non-stop.

Still, it seemed like proof that he had relaxed to some extent, which was a relief.

“It’s thanks to the Chief Secretary’s quick confirmation.”

“Well, it’s my job to do this kind of thing… I owe you a great debt, Attorney.”

I felt uncomfortable hearing him thank me when Kang Min-jae was hurt because of me.

However, now that he was more rational, I didn’t think it was necessary to continue a tiring conversation by saying, ‘It’s my fault.’ So, I decided not to say anything else.

“Didn’t I owe a great debt to the elder and Chief Secretary Kang, and to Kang Min-jae? I could have been in prison right now. So, let’s just say we’re even.”

“…Is that so? Haha. Now, all we have to do is wait for Min-jae to shake it off and get back on his feet. Oh, this is not the time for this. You can’t visit freely in the intensive care unit, so you should go see him right after the surgery.”

Kang Soo-il jumped up and looked around as if he had remembered something important.

He seemed to have lost his sense of direction.

When it came to Kang Kwan-woong’s situation, he was old and a former president, so Kang Soo-il had too many things to do besides worry.

But this time, he seemed a bit disoriented because he could worry about Kang Min-jae’s well-being without any complicated procedures.

I don’t know which is better.

Being too busy to be anxious or being able to worry without restraint.

“I’m Kang Min-jae’s guardian.”

I moved to the desk for intensive care unit visitation, and the nurse typed on the keyboard before answering.

“Ah, yes. Kang Min-jae was just admitted to the intensive care unit. You can visit now since it’s right after surgery, but after this, you can only visit once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This doesn’t apply once he’s moved to a regular room. Only one guardian can visit. Who will be going in?”

“Ah, this person will be going in.”

I stepped back behind Kang Soo-il.

“Then, please fill out this form with the visiting guardian’s information, wash your hands with the disinfectant soap over there, and then come back.”

Kang Soo-il followed the instructions, and I and the others went to the waiting area and sat down.

“He’ll be out of the intensive care unit soon, right?”

“It’s a different case from Attorney Kang, but I have a friend who had surgery for a brain hemorrhage and went to the intensive care unit. I asked him if he had any advice while Attorney Kang was in surgery, and he said he was moved to a regular room the day after tomorrow.”

“Does he have any aftereffects now?”

“No. He’s fine now. He couldn’t smell at first, but it came back.”

“That’s a relief.”

While waiting, I listened to their conversation and searched the internet for information about acute subdural hematoma [a collection of blood on the surface of the brain].

Dong-jin had explained it to me, but I couldn’t keep bothering him, so I thought it would be better to look up many cases online.

“Joo-han!”

I was searching when I heard Dong-jin’s voice from one side.

I looked up, and at the same time, the people next to me fixed their gaze on Dong-jin.

They seemed curious about who he was.

Ah, they had never seen Dong-jin before.

“Who is that?”

As Dong-jin approached me, Choi Jong-hyun nudged my side with his elbow and asked quietly.

“He’s my friend. He assisted Dr. Baek Chan-geun in Min-jae’s surgery.”

“Ah, that’s him.”

As soon as he heard my answer, everyone stood up and greeted Dong-jin.

Dong-jin seemed a bit bewildered, but he seemed to recognize them one by one as he listened to their introductions.

After shaking hands with everyone, Dong-jin approached me.

“I heard you went to the intensive care unit, so I came to see you, but why are you here? Aren’t you visiting Min-jae?”

“Only one person is allowed, so his family member went in.”

“Ah… Wait a minute.”

Dong-jin went to the desk and exchanged a few words with the nurse, then smiled brightly and repeatedly bowed.

Then, he turned to me and gestured.

“Fill out this form and wash your hands. You should go see him too. You were worried about Min-jae.”

“Is it okay? Are you sure there won’t be any problems?”

“I was wondering why you didn’t ask. Are you going to look for regulations even in this situation? This much is okay. Hurry up and wash your hands.”

I didn’t say anything more and filled out the form as Dong-jin said.

I knew it wasn’t in accordance with the regulations, but I decided to comfort myself with the words that this much was okay.

Even I felt that I wasn’t very stable to be looking for regulations in this situation.

Kang Min-jae teased me, calling me an FM robot [someone who strictly follows rules and regulations], but I guess I’m no different.

“Ah, Attorney.”

As I entered the intensive care unit with Dong-jin’s guidance, Kang Soo-il, who had come in earlier and was checking on Kang Min-jae, noticed me and stepped aside.

His voice sounded like he had been crying.

But I didn’t bother to check his face.

I had been staring at Kang Min-jae, who had all sorts of things attached to his body.

“You must be Min-jae’s uncle? I couldn’t see you before because I was preparing for the surgery. I’m Yang Dong-jin, who helped Dr. Baek with Min-jae’s surgery.”

“Ah, I’m sorry for the late greeting. I’m Kang Soo-il. I’ve heard a lot about you from Attorney Cha.”

“I didn’t know this friend would talk about me. Um… Dr. Baek probably explained it to you, but Min-jae’s surgery went well. If you have any questions you couldn’t ask, please feel free to ask. I’ll answer as much as I can.”

“Well… The surgery went well, but I didn’t hear much about the prognosis.”

“There are several indicators that can predict the prognosis at Min-jae’s level of consciousness, but the extent of the head trauma is also considered a very important indicator.”

“I don’t know much, but it doesn’t seem like Min-jae’s head trauma is severe…”

“Yes, that’s right. Min-jae’s head trauma is not considered severe.”

“Then, can I expect a good prognosis? Ah, but Dr. Baek said before the surgery that Min-jae’s hematoma was not small. Will this have any impact?”

“The size of the hematoma is not known to be significantly related to the prognosis. I guess Dr. Baek mentioned the size of the hematoma to explain that surgery was necessary. Since it’s a surgery that involves touching the skull, some guardians think it’s more dangerous and want to treat it with medication.”

“I see…”

“And in Min-jae’s case, he was originally healthy and had no underlying diseases, so he should be able to recover quickly. When he first came to the hospital, his level of consciousness was not good, so I was very worried, but Min-jae regained consciousness during the intubation…”

“Kang Min-jae regained consciousness in the middle?”

I had never heard that story.

Kang Soo-il and Secretary Oh must have thought I had heard it and didn’t say anything.

“Didn’t Dr. Baek tell you? Why didn’t he tell you…”

“No, he told me.”

Kang Soo-il interjected when Dong-jin showed a noticeable sign of embarrassment.

“I must have missed it because I came in halfway through.”

“He regained consciousness. I checked his orientation and it was normal. He was a bit confused due to the pain, but there were no wrong answers.”

“Doctor, I only roughly know that orientation is the ability to recognize the situation… Can you explain exactly what it is?”

“Your definition is correct. When he regained consciousness earlier, we asked Min-jae a few questions to check his level of orientation. Questions like who he is, where he is, and what year it is. Min-jae knew everything accurately.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

“Anyway, based on these various indicators, we expect a good prognosis, but our medical staff will not let our guard down and will work hard to help Min-jae recover well.”

Dong-jin said, making eye contact with Kang Soo-il.

As the guardian’s heart is influenced by the attitude of the medical staff, Kang Soo-il also looked noticeably relieved.

Not long after hearing Dong-jin’s explanation, the visiting hours ended.

“Your friend seems to be a really good doctor.”

Kang Soo-il said as we left the intensive care unit.

“Is that so?”

“Many conditions are needed to become a good doctor, and I only saw a glimpse, but Dr. Yang Dong-jin seems to care a lot about the patient and the patient’s family. I can feel it in the way he speaks. From our perspective, it’s important how well he explains it so that we, who don’t have medical knowledge, can understand it, and whether we can see the doctor’s enthusiasm. So, from my perspective, he’s a good doctor. Of course, he also successfully assisted in Min-jae’s surgery, so he must be very skilled.”

“Dong-jin would be happy to hear that.”

“So, I actually wanted to ask a little more about the aftereffects, but I couldn’t.”

“Why didn’t you just ask?”

“I thought it would be a discouraging question. From the medical staff’s perspective, they focus on delivering accurate information to the patient or the patient’s guardian. But people like Dr. Yang Dong-jin want to help them manage their emotions in addition to that.”

Listening to Kang Soo-il, it seemed that way.

I had never seen Dong-jin from the perspective of a patient or a patient’s guardian, so I hadn’t thought about it, but thinking back to what he had said since he was a medical student, it was true.

He understood doctors who were cold to guardians who were worried about their patients, but he said he wouldn’t be like that.

“Dr. Baek also said that we have to keep watching for aftereffects, and when I looked it up while waiting for the surgery to end, it seemed like we could only know for sure when Min-jae opened his eyes. And from a doctor’s perspective, if they make a definite statement and the result is different, they may have to take responsibility. It’s obviously a question that can’t be answered clearly, but I think people like Dr. Yang Dong-jin would feel sorry for the patient if they received such a question.”

It suddenly occurred to me that Kang Min-jae’s personality might have been influenced by Kang Soo-il.

The ability to think about other people’s perspectives even in this situation is not easily granted to ordinary people.

“Anyway, I feel a little relieved after hearing Dr. Yang Dong-jin’s words. If I was about 100 anxious at first, I think it’s down to about 40 now. You seem to have calmed down a bit too, Attorney. Are you okay?”

I don’t know.

I was relieved from the anxiety that Kang Min-jae might die, but I was still worried about the aftereffects he might have.

Listening to Dong-jin, I had hope that the aftereffects wouldn’t be severe, but whether they were severe or not, aftereffects were aftereffects.

And isn’t it a kind of disability that wouldn’t have existed if I hadn’t met him in this life?

I didn’t have the arrogant thought of saving everyone in this world, but I at least wanted this life to be better than the previous one.

I acted according to that purpose, and Kang Min-jae was always with me at that time.

But if Kang Min-jae, who had always been with me, were to have a disability that didn’t exist in the first place, it would mean that the meaning I had given to this life would be diminished.

So, I couldn’t rest assured until Kang Min-jae opened his eyes.

“Yes. I’m relieved now.”

But I couldn’t tell the truth.

Did I bring my medication for emergencies today?

I need to take it quickly before others see me.