Chapter 244

Episode 244 How to Save Two People (1)

Overnight, I had suddenly become a nation-wide genius doctor.

Even so, my life didn't actually change all that much afterward. The Emergency Room was still a total mess, and I still looked like a total hobo. Well, to be honest, a few minor things did change.

"Hey there, genius," greeted Son Jong-woon from Pediatric Neurology.

"Wow~ Our genius has arrived," said Choi Min-jun from Emergency Medicine.

"What's up, crazy genius bastard?" chimed in Kim Jihun from Emergency Medicine.

"Which department's surgery are you planning to steal and conduct today?" added Cho Soo-yeon, also from Emergency Medicine.

As soon as I appeared on the news, these bastards completely changed our group chat name to [Han Hyeonjae (Genius) and the Kids]. Now, every single time they see my face, they tease me like that. Should I just kill them?

"Good morning! Our grand genius Senior!" Baek Eunseo mocked me with a laugh, even when we were on a date outside on our day off.

And the absolute worst part was...

"Hyunjae, I firmly believe without a shadow of a doubt that you are the truest madman and the greatest crazy bastard of the ER! Come over here! I'm going to give you a very special patient case!"

"……Professor, you're just dumping a patient you find too annoying to look at onto me."

…It was just the crazy Lee Minjae.

Like that, the remnants of that incident slowly began to fade as time passed. Isn't that always the case with the media and public opinion? In this small nation of South Korea, there are always plenty of other incidents to draw attention, and the public's interest quickly shifts elsewhere. As the days ticked by, both the hospital and I returned to our regular daily routines.

"Great work today."

"Yes! You worked really hard too, Dr. Han~"

It was time to go home. The commute home that I had desperately been waiting for. I changed my clothes in an instant and tried to escape the Emergency Room… but.

"Dr. Han. Director Kang Hyun-joon asked you to come up for a bit."

That plan failed miserably! Damn it.

The message passed along by the charge nurse was that Director Kang Hyun-joon of Trauma Surgery was calling for me. And right after my shift, no less.

Why would the director suddenly call for me?

With that question in mind, I headed toward the elevator.

I don't see any reason for him to call….

Ding—

[Third floor.]

The third floor of the Emergency Medical Center is an area exclusively dedicated to the trauma center. It is a place where the emergency operating rooms and the Trauma ICU are located—a place where I normally have absolutely no reason to visit. I am someone who shouldn't even be here right now. He’ll send me back quickly, right?

[Trauma Intensive Care Unit (TICU-01)]

3 F

I pressed the bell in front of the door and waited for a moment. I wasn't in a sterile state, so if I just swiped my ID card and walked in, I’d probably get chewed out.

Zzzzzzt—

The automatic door opened, and Director Kang Hyun-joon of Trauma Surgery welcomed me with his hands resting behind his back.

"Dr. Han Hyeonjae? It's been a while."

"Yes, Director. It's been a while since I last saw—"

"Geniuses must be busy, right?"

"……Pardon?"

When I replied with a blank look on my face, Director Kang smiled, as if my face or the situation itself was amusing.

"Haha, never mind. You were on your way home, so you must be tired."

"Not at all! I'm fine. May I ask for what reason you called me here today…?"

"Ah, this."

Director Kang pointed toward the inside of the closed ICU.

This?

What is 'this', you gentleman? You should at least tell me that much.

Zzzzzzt—

Just then, the ICU door opened once again.

Raaaaattle—

A doctor who appeared to be the attending resident and an ICU nurse came out, pulling a bed.

…Huh?

The moment I saw the patient's face, I couldn't help but go into a daze.

Private First Class Lee Won-jun?

It was the gunshot patient. The appearance of him being in a coma was completely gone. Although he still looked a bit gaunt, he was definitely no longer a dying person. As I stood there, utterly lost for words, Director Kang Hyun-joon calmly started his explanation.

"We extubated him the day before yesterday. The critical care doctors in the ICU had a rough time pouring antibiotics into him. They barely managed to get him past VAP (Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia), too."

"Then, this patient is now..."

"He'll probably be moved down to the intermediate care unit. His vital signs have completely entered the stable zone."

"…Ah."

I see. His time in the ICU was finally over.

"Of course, we'll have to monitor him closely for another month, but he has essentially passed the critical juncture. Even though rehab still remains, it won't hinder his ability to walk."

I walked over to the side of the stretcher and quietly stared at Lee Won-jun's face.

"Hello. I'm Han Hyeonjae from Emergency Medicine, the one who handled your initial treatment when you first arrived at the ER."

At those words, the patient blinked his eyes. Even if he wanted to speak, he must have judged it better not to, likely due to the pain left in his throat from the intubation. Instead, Lee Won-jun quietly closed his eyes and gave me a smile. Then, he slinked his right hand out from under the blanket.

Thump—

He flashed a thumbs-up directly at me.

Ah.

It must have been an incredibly difficult time for him.

For a patient this critical, it is tough on the doctor, but it is far more exhausting for the patient. As much effort as the doctor puts in, the patient's own will to live must match it. Considering he must have gone through such a hellish period, seeing him playfully flash a thumbs-up to a doctor made me think that his mental fortitude was truly remarkable.

"…I just called you because I wanted to show you this, Dr. Han," Director Kang Hyun-joon, who was standing beside me, began to speak. "I'm sorry for calling you here when you probably wanted to go home after standing duty."

Even after performing the initial stabilization in the ER, not being able to actually see the patient wake up and walk out of the hospital is the sorrowful fate of an Emergency Medicine physician. In other words, Director Kang knew this and likely timed his call perfectly with the patient's transfer to the general ward just for me.

I expressed my gratitude.

"Not at all, Director. I really wanted to see something like this."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir."

At my response, Han Hyun-joon tapped me on the shoulder.

"Anyway, take pride in this."

"Did you say pride, sir?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, that friend is leaving the ICU with almost zero brain damage."

The patient looked at me once more and nodded. And then, yet again...

A thumbs-up.

"Pfft. Ah, sorry. Seriously…."

I burst out laughing and had to apologize belatedly. What on earth does he eat to have such an ironclad mentality?

Gosh, it's making me tear up, shit.

This was the happiest day since I became a star doctor.

"Pardon? You want me to do what?"

"Like I said, it's an interview. A documentary interview."

"Do I absolutely have to do that?"

If you were to ask what I am doing right now, I would answer you. I am currently bickering with a staff member from the public relations team. The reason why I am doing this instead of going home is…

Because I don't want to get stuck handling garbage work, why else?

Broadcast interviews. Camera filming. These things are usually the exclusive domain of professors with years of experience and eloquent speaking skills. It is common sense that when a resident stands in front of a camera representing the hospital, there is far more to lose than to gain.

"Why on earth did they choose me as the interview subject?"

"Well, the producer specifically requested you! They desperately begged us to recruit Dr. Han Hyeonjae. Given the current public opinion, you are a genius doctor, after all."

"Who is a genius…."

"You are, Dr. Han. On the internet, they even call you 'Great Hyeonjae'—"

"……."

"……."

Where exactly should I start correcting her?

Should I start with the cringeworthy nickname 'Great Hyeonjae' given by netizens? Or the title of 'genius'?

No.

I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair.

Let's just give up. It's a decision I made myself anyway.

Didn't I come to the conclusion on my own that I need the title of a genius to survive hospital life alongside these ghosts? 'He who wishes to wear the crown, must bear its weight!' There's a saying like that, isn't there? It seemed like dealing with this level of media play was just a tax I had to pay.

"So when is it?"

The public relations staff member's face instantly brightened.

"It's scheduled for today! The setup is completely finished right now."

"Today?"

"Yes, today. I assumed the schedule had been passed along to you a few days ago through the Emergency Medicine doctor's office. I even called to confirm this morning..."

…Okay.

There was only one person who would receive an official document from the PR team and completely forget to pass it on to me.

The very first person I will hunt down and slaughter after this interview is Kim Jihun.

I was already keeping a sharp eye on him because my name seemed unusually frequent on the duty roster lately. And yet, he dared to drop this kind of crap on me?

You are completely fucked, Jihun.

I forced a fake smile and followed the PR staff member.

"The scene where you collapsed after pronouncing the patient's death left a profound lingering impression and deep sorrow on the viewers," the producer said in a serious voice.

"Yes, yes."

There was no way he would know about the possession penalty. A doctor who collapsed out of sheer despair from failing to save a dying patient—that was the narrative the public and the media had wrapped around me. In reality, I had just physically fainted due to the possession penalty kicking in after the potion's duration expired. Even if I told the truth, nobody would believe me. I’d just be treated like a crazy bastard.

"That patient was a so-called 'ER-unaccepted wandering patient,' wasn't he? Because of that, there are growing voices claiming that we need far more talented and dedicated Emergency Medicine doctors like you, Dr. Han Hyeonjae. What are your thoughts on this?"

"About that… personally, I don't think that's the correct approach."

"Why do you think so?"

"No matter what, the role of an Emergency Medicine physician is not definitive treatment. We forcibly stabilize vitals to buy time for the patient to hold on—we are essentially a bridge."

Oh. I'm speaking pretty well today. Plus, it's quite logical.

"Therefore, patients with severe trauma or cerebrovascular diseases can ultimately survive only when they pass through the ER and receive fundamental, final treatment from the back-up medical departments. I'm talking about departments like General Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, or Neurosurgery."

I began delivering a passionate speech with full dedication, utilizing hand gestures. I was doing pretty well today.

"Yes, I see."

"The procedures I perform, like REBOA or resuscitative laparotomy and thoracotomy, are ultimately just temporary interventions. Even if we temporarily extend a life by ten or twenty minutes using those methods, the patient will eventually die if there is no surgeon or available ICU bed."

I wasn't sure if it was the result of debating with the forum members or if I was just naturally decent at explaining things, but for now, I thought my answer was quite solid.

"In the end, wandering patients will disappear only when definitive final treatment becomes viable. To achieve that, we don't need dozens more of a 'second Han Hyeonjae' in the ER, but rather—"

Zzzzzzt—

Just as I was about to continue, the cell phone inside my gown pocket vibrated.

"Rather..."

Zzzzzzt—

Oh, for shit's sake.

"I'm sorry. Let me just check this message real quick."

"Ah, yes, yes! That's perfectly fine. Let's pause recording for a moment."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

[Cheongjin University Hospital Dr. Helicopter Team (22)]

Ah. Fuck.

I was the one riding the helicopter today.

[Aero-Medical Team Coordinator Kang Min-jung]

[Pt: 33/F, IUP 37 wks (G2P1) Loc: Tongyeong Rendezvous Point C/C: Sudden collapse w/ dyspnea & chest pain…]

[…Mental status was stupor, BP 70/50 ETA: - ]

A 33-year-old female. A pregnant woman at 37 weeks of gestation. It was her second pregnancy, with a history of a prior delivery. The location was the helicopter rendezvous point in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. The chief complaints were a sudden collapse, severe breathing difficulties, and chest pain.

This is driving me crazy, seriously.

At 37 weeks, she was at full term. The lives of both the mother and the baby were on the line. Furthermore, considering the horrible distance that would take well over an hour and a half even if an ambulance pressed its pedal to the metal to get from Tongyeong to Busan Cheongjin University Hospital... If the Dr. Helicopter didn't take off immediately, both the mother and the fetus would inevitably die.

Sudden breathing difficulties, chest pain, and shock in a full-term pregnant woman. The suspected diseases were pulmonary embolism, amniotic fluid embolism, or aortic dissection. Whichever disease it was, the mortality rate was horrifyingly high.

"Producer."

"Yes, Doctor!"

I stood up from my chair and detached the microphone clipped to my gown.

"I have to go catch a helicopter."

"Pardon? Right now? We aren't even halfway through the interview yet!"

As if an interview mattered right now. A full-term pregnant mother whose breath was actively stopping was waiting for me on the cold ground of Tongyeong.

"With that, I'll take my leave."