Chapter 227
Episode 227 4th Year (1)
"Sigh… how did things turn out this way?"
I let out a deep sigh as I stepped onto the stage of the main auditorium. Beside me stood Baek Eunseo (Female) in her white gown, her face flushed with excitement. On the other side, Fellow Lee Minjae (Male) was wearing a proud smile.
"Achievement Award. Emergency Medicine Clinical Instructor Lee Minjae, 3rd Year Resident Han Hyeonjae (Male), 2nd Year Resident Baek Eunseo (Female). The aforementioned individuals have greatly enhanced the honor of this institution through their exemplary professionalism and spirit of sacrifice…"
The voice of the Medical Center Director reading out the award plaques resonated throughout the auditorium through the microphone. After the presentation of the awards concluded, the time came to stand side-by-side with the director to take a commemorative picture. A staff member from the hospital public relations team, who had set up camp in the front row of the auditorium, shouted while gripping a camera as giant as a cannon.
"Alright, everyone look at the camera! Smile! Say cheese!"
I forcibly strained my facial muscles to construct my best corporate smirk—a calculated blend of capitalism and social life. Just lifting the corners of my mouth a bit should be enough to get through this without any trouble.
Then, Baek Eunseo (Female), who was standing next to me, tapped the hem of my gown.
"Dr. Han." She whispered softly while looking forward.
"What?"
"You're smiling like a psychopath right now. You look like a serial killer."
"…."
Good grief. She certainly didn't mince her words.
I quickly relaxed the tension around my eyes, clenched my molars, and struggled to project the most human and gentle smile possible.
"Is it a bit better if I smile like this?"
"Yes, well… it's a bit better than before." Baek Eunseo (Female) gave a small laugh and nodded.
At that moment.
"Taking it now! One, two, three!"
Click!
Click, click!
A barrage of flashes erupted, threatening to blind my eyes, and our heroic (?) group picture—destined to grace the front page of the hospital newsletter—was permanently immortalized.
If you were to ask how on earth things reached this point, the clock would have to wind back a few days to the disastrous traffic accident scene in the middle of Minam Intersection.
While we were struggling to apply bandages and immobilize spines, a massive crowd of citizens had gathered around us. At the time, we had absolutely no idea what kind of role would be played by the black boxes attached to the dozens of vehicles sitting on that heavily congested 8-lane road. Though, to be fair, the decisive factor was the camera from a local broadcasting station's news vehicle that had sniffed out the story from somewhere and rushed to the scene.
Yes, that's right. The station's camera captured the figures of myself, Baek Eunseo (Female), and Lee Minjae (Male) in vivid detail.
[SBC NEWS] What Passing Doctors Did at a Traffic Accident Scene
[KSB] The Identity of the Black Padded Jacket Who Suddenly Appeared at a Major Traffic Accident Scene…
[Bugyeong Ilbo] "We're Leaving Alive" Off-Duty Medical Staff Save Blood-Covered Patient
A string of perfect thumbnails and headlines that news desks would drool over flooded the internet. It was a heartwarming story about doctors who didn't hesitate to throw themselves into saving a patient at an accident scene they stumbled upon by chance on their day off.
Getting featured on the news was one thing. I figured people would think we did a good deed and forget about it after a few days. The problem was that this damn news caught the algorithm of short-form videos and social media.
'Fuck.'
The comment section of a Shorts video that racked up millions of views was an absolute circus.
@user-1848vfei: Wow, the doctors are seriously so cool ㅠㅠ
@KimMunjeong-156: Wait, the doctor doing the interview looks kinda familiar.
@user-fi291: Isn't that the emergency room doctor who appeared in the KBC documentary last year???
@Kiny_KK: I think I saw him on Reels. Pretty sure it's him.
And that was how, entirely against my will, my identity was dug up by the internet detectives, forcibly crowning me as a superstar of the algorithm for a short period. Naturally, there was no way the hospital would miss out on such a massive marketing windfall. The Medical Center Director and the public relations team had joyfully risen to the occasion, and the result was this cursed award ceremony in the main auditorium.
As the event wrapped up and I was leaving the auditorium, the vibration in my gown pocket began to buzz like crazy.
Bzzzzzz-
Bzzzzzz-
Checking the caller ID, it was my mother in Seoul. I glanced around warily, walked over to a corner, and answered the phone.
"Yes, hello?"
"Hyunjae! I saw the news! How could you do such a proud thing! Are you eating well? I feel like I should hang up a banner or something!"
"What banner? That's embarrassing. I just did what I was supposed to do."
…
"Yes, yes, I'm eating well. I'm hanging up now."
I ended the call feeling a warm, fuzzy sensation in a corner of my heart. But before the lingering emotion could even fade, the vibration started again.
Bzzzzzz-
This time, the moment I saw the name displayed on the screen, my brow furrowed instantly.
[SonJongSonJungSonJangUn]
Department of Pediatrics Resident Son Jongun. The moment I answered the phone, a loud voice blasted through the receiver, hitting my eardrum.
"Yes, hello."
"Hey… you. Pfft… khhk… Ahahahahahahaha!!"
Why is he laughing like a crazy bastard? It's giving me goosebumps.
"Why are you laughing, you crazy bastard? I'm busy to death. Hanging up."
Son Jongun from Pediatrics, speaking in a blissful voice as if he owned the world, quickly stopped me from ending the call.
"Hey, hey! Don't hang up! Don't hang up! I watched your interview very closely!"
My face flushed crimson at Son Jongun's words. When the reporter thrust a microphone at me while I was completely out of it, I had merely desired to go home quickly. So, I had mechanically churned out the most textbook, soulless comments that popped into my head.
'Because it's my job? As a doctor, it was only natural to do so when a life was in danger? Anyone in that situation would have rushed out?! You punk, do you have any right to call me pretentious? Huh, pal?'
"Shut your mouth."
"Oh, I'm so scared~ I'll share the news in the junior group chat after work! Fighting!"
Click-
I slammed the end call button. This guy was definitely taking revenge because I teased him about his appearance in a pediatrics documentary last year. My face felt like it was about to explode.
And that was how my spectacular, turbulent 3rd year in the Department of Emergency Medicine concluded, amid the applause of the entire hospital and the mockery of my peer.
March.
In a university hospital, March does not signify the beginning of a warm spring; rather, it is a season that means giant chaos and a complete reset. At least, that's how it is by my standards.
It is the devil's month when new interns and residents arrive, and the existing residents advance by one year, causing all sorts of noise and pushing the risk of medical accidents to their highest peak of the year. And with the arrival of March, many things around me had undergone a sudden shift.
The first piece of news to reach me was about my peer, Son Jongun, who had been the chief of Pediatrics. Son Jongun had decided not to head out into the local private practice market after completing his residency. Originally, he used to drone on about wanting to open a clinic right after his training to treat cold patients, singing praises about raking in cash to buy a foreign car.
Yet now, he is going through a subspecialty fellowship at Cheongjin University Hospital's Pediatric Neurology department.
Pediatric Neurology. It is a place that deals with the most difficult and heartbreaking severe cases like pediatric epilepsy, developmental disorders, and cerebral palsy—a field where you don't make money and your body gets ground down. He had walked into that path of his own free volition.
Though I had used every curse word in the book to dissuade him over drinks, Son Jongun had merely chuckled, offering nothing but the silly remark that "looking at kids' brain waves is surprisingly fun."
'To think my friend is a fellow while I'm still a resident.'
This is why having a friend in a three-year residency department like Pediatrics or Internal Medicine makes you feel bizarre. I am still a 4th-year resident, but that bastard peer of mine has already proudly acquired his specialist license.
The internal ecosystem of my own department, Emergency Medicine, had also rearranged itself. For the 4th-year cohort, the position of Head of Doctor's Office—which handles all administration, resident scheduling, and catering to the professors' every need—was taken over by my peer, Kim Jihun (Male).
Customarily, the person with the highest skill or the strongest voice among the 4th years takes on the role of Head of Doctor's Office. However, I deftly avoided that heavy crown.
'Well, Jihun has always been quiet and diligent anyway.'
Above all, I had much bigger things to take care of this year. That was likely why the Section Chief of Emergency Medicine, Park Woong, or Lee Jaeyun had placed someone reliable and tight-lipped like him in that position. They were clearly laying the groundwork to ensure my ankles wouldn't be tied up by administrative duties, which would hinder my work regarding the phantom department that was set to open soon.
Besides, rotations are scheduled even during the 4th year, and it would be awkward for the Head of Doctor's Office to go on an external rotation.
And then, the most dramatic change of all.
The absolute psycho fellow, Lee Minjae (Male)—who had tormented me endlessly while simultaneously serving as a reliable backbone behind me—finally became a Clinical Assistant Professor. In short, things turned out great for him. Usually, a vast majority of fellows get kicked out after rolling around for a few years because there are no openings, but he proudly snatched a staff position.
Of course, positions open up relatively frequently in Emergency Medicine, so they generally grant a clinical assistant professor title once the fellowship concludes.
'Then again, the gentleman did score near the very top of the country on his specialist exam.'
I recalled that the papers he frequently pulled all-nighters to write were published in SCI-level journals. All this time, he had acted like he was just fooling around and talking nonsense, but he was secretly building his credentials behind the scenes. Thus, Lee Minjae (Male) safely completed his two-year fellowship and finally became the professor he had dreamed of.
Granted, it wasn't a tenure-track position like a university-endowed professor or a full-time faculty member, but rather a clinical track hired on a hospital contract basis. Still, even if it wasn't a tenure track, it was a massive achievement. The moment the word 'Professor' is stamped onto your business card, the treatment you receive changes like night and day.
Thud.
Thud.
As I sat at the station organizing charts, a very familiar set of footsteps approached from behind my back.
"Kraaa! Hyunjae! Do you see this?"
When I turned my head, Lee Minjae (Male), wearing a crisply ironed, brand-new doctor's gown, was thrusting his embroidered name right in front of my nose.
[Department of Emergency Medicine Professor Lee Minjae]
I stared at him blankly with an expressionless face and responded, "What are you referring to, Teacher?"
At my lukewarm reaction, Lee Minjae (Male) twitched his eyebrows and fluttered the collar of his gown.
"Uh-huh, instead of 'Teacher'! Boom! There's another title! Say it! I want to hear that exact word directly from the mouth of the great shaman of our emergency room, Han Hyeonjae (Male)!"
With the corners of his mouth hooked over his ears, he was practically snorting with excitement. Rather than a Clinical Assistant Professor, he looked like a kindergartener who had come to brag about a gold medal.
But what could I do? He is a staff member now, not a fellow.
I let out an incredibly deep sigh, pushed myself halfway up from my seat, and bowed my head slightly.
"Haa… yes. Professor. Congratulations on your promotion."
At that single word from my mouth, Lee Minjae (Male) pumped his fists in the air and let out a roar of pure ecstasy.
"That's it!!! Uhahaha! Did you hear that? Hyunjae just called me Professor! Wow, this taste of victory is exactly why I endured being a fellow slave!"
"Ha."
I plopped back down into my seat and pressed a hand to my forehead.
'Why did I end up with such a frivolous gentleman as my superior?'
The future felt pitch black as I wondered how I would cope with that gossiping mouth from now on. Even so, I reminded myself to bear it, since he is a man who backs me up more reliably than anyone else the moment a patient's vitals begin to shake.
Right then.
"Dr. Han Hyeonjae!"
From the distant triage area, Baek Eunseo (Female)—who was now in her 3rd year and exuded a considerably seasoned aura—came walking briskly toward me.
"Yeah, what's up? What kind of patient is it?"
When I reflexively placed my hand on the monitor to check, she shook her head and smirked.
"Not a patient. You need to come say hello. I've gathered all the new 1st-year residents who just joined. I'm going to introduce them to you!"
"Oh, boy."
I grimaced, thoroughly dismayed.
A 1st-year resident in March. Absolute, pure beginners whose clinical experience amounted to nothing more than drawing blood and inserting a Foley catheter during their internship. Now, the time had arrived to clean up the messes they would make, scold them, and mold them into functioning emergency room doctors.
I pulled myself up from the seat and shoved my hands into my gown pockets.
"Let's go, let's go."