Chapter 269
Episode 269 Wrapping Up the Rotation (2)
I tilted my head at those words.
‘If it’s the Chief Professor, does he mean Oh Man-seok?’
Why on earth was that gentleman calling for me?
‘Well, it’s not like he’s trying to apologize after all this time.’
He was the very man who had blatantly ignored me, a mere resident, since my very first day. What could possibly possess him to summon me now?
Thud, thud.
“Alright, I’ll head over for now.”
I started walking down the neurosurgery ward hallway, following Hwang Seong-hun. Once I got there, I’d figure out what was going on.
[Conference Room - 2]
The place Hwang Seong-hun led me to was a small meeting room.
Knock, knock.
“What is it?”
At the blunt voice, Hwang Seong-hun answered immediately.
“Ah, yes. I’ve brought the rotating resident, Professor.”
“Send him in.”
Hearing that, a sudden wave of anxiety washed over me.
‘Is he going to throw another unhinged fit for no reason?’
It was a perfectly reasonable suspicion. After all, wasn’t he the one who had openly ostracized and hazed me from day one, claiming I was on the hospital president’s line? And that was against a mere resident. If he was a man with a mind that narrow, he would probably think nothing of throwing a fit at me even after the press conference.
‘Even so, I can’t exactly run away from here….’
Ah, shit.
Why has my luck been like this since this morning? I managed to achieve the ultimate combo of oversleeping and being late from the moment the sun rose, and now, as soon as I arrive, I get summoned by a boss I despise. How dreadful.
Creeeeak.
I cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
“Only the rotating doctor enters. Seong-hun, you can head back.”
At that heavy voice, Hwang Seong-hun quietly bowed his head and withdrew. I silently took a seat on the chair positioned directly opposite him.
Scritch—
“….”
“….”
An awkward silence filled the room.
“….”
“….”
The awkward silence still hung heavily in the air.
“….”
“….”
The silence in the room… Ah, seriously.
‘If you’re going to be like this, why did you even call me?’
I decided to serve a fastball, true to my reputation as the crazy bastard of the Emergency Room.
“By any chance, could I know the reason you summoned me?”
Honestly, at this point, it wasn’t even a crazy question. It was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. It was just the kind of preemptive question that a typical resident would need a bit of courage to ask first.
But I was fine.
‘Because I’ve clashed with people a hell of a lot.’
Besides, I’ve even had private face-to-face meetings with the hospital president. What was there to fear?
At my words, Oh Man-seok tapped his fingers on the desk.
“Hmm….”
No, seriously, what is it?
‘Just say something, Professor.’
The suspense was killing me.
Then, the words that finally left his mouth were completely unexpected.
“…I am sorry.”
I froze instantly at his words.
‘What did he just say?’
He’s suddenly backing down?
The Chief Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery. The absolute top dog of neurosurgery, occupying a position where even the Section Chief of Neurosurgery couldn’t act carelessly around him. A man like that, who had been so hostile toward me, was suddenly throwing in the towel.
‘Could this be… because of the press conference from a few days ago?’
Ever since the public press conference a few days prior, public opinion toward me had shifted back to being favorable. At the same time, the forces attacking me had withered away a bit. The prime example was that reporter who had tried to publicly ruin me.
First, I voiced the most crucial question.
“I would like to know exactly what you are apologizing for.”
An apology requires stating what one did wrong. Of course, it didn't seem like the kind of demand a resident should make to a professor, but…
First of all, at the very least, I didn’t belong to this department. Second, I had genuinely been wronged enough to warrant an apology. Third, I was just a crazy bastard who clashed with professors all the time anyway. Therefore, even if I boldly asked such a question, those gentlemen already had a high threshold for my craziness, so it wouldn’t matter.
‘Is he going to talk about the leaked paper… or unleashing that reporter to attack me… or ignoring me on the first day… things like that?’
Oh Man-seok, who had been staring down while tapping his fingers on the desk, carefully raised his head at my question.
“I came to offer a small apology for ignoring you and how I treated you.”
“Are you referring to having ignored me?”
An apology for ignoring me. It felt like a lot was missing. I decided to channel my inner madman and press Oh Man-seok directly.
In fact, Oh Man-seok had barely crossed my path since the first day. Ever since I diagnosed the A1-related variant, he was hardly ever seen. On the rare days he did pop up, he would pass by without being able to say a single word to me. Even when he gave instructions to other residents, he deliberately avoided giving any orders related to me.
And so….
‘My rotation is almost over anyway, so wouldn’t it be fine to push him a little?’
I opened my mouth.
“It seems… like you’ve left a few details out.”
At my words, Oh Man-seok stared at me with a grave expression, as if thinking, ‘What on earth did I just hear?’
“What do you mean?”
“I can't help but think there might be another topic you should bring up besides just ignoring me.”
Oh Man-seok quietly furrowed his brow at that and asked me, “What exactly are you referring to?”
Is he going to play innocent until the very end?
“I thought you might have something to say regarding the leak of the research paper, the public issue, and the reporter from the press conference.”
“No, what on earth…”
Oh Man-seok tried to counter my words but fell deep into thought.
“….”
“I assumed you were the one pulling the strings from behind, Professor.”
At that, Oh Man-seok let out a hollow laugh before he began to speak.
“I suppose it’s entirely reasonable for you to think that… but at least, that wasn't me. It’s true that I viewed you with distaste and treated you wrongly… but at the very least, I did not leak that paper.”
Hearing that, I decided to ask a very, very reasonable question.
“Uh, I am truly sorry, but.”
“What is it?”
“Given that we’ve already gone through such a suspicious ordeal, I'm not entirely sure how I can trust what you’re telling me right now, Professor.”
Oh Man-seok fell into thought once again.
“The hospital has likely launched an internal investigation. I believe my innocence will be proven around the time those results come out.”
‘Hmm….’
It wasn’t an incomprehensible answer. A research paper leak is a rather serious violation of research ethics… well, I wasn't entirely sure about the exact rules, but it certainly wasn't something to be proud of. What would Oh Man-seok even gain from leaking that paper?
‘In the first day, Oh Man-seok already knew that I was the one who discovered this variant. If so, is there any grand reason for him to leak this paper?’
In any case, I… no, the guy who had his head cracked open had completely shut down him and the other professors during the conference. There was no reason for him to go out of his way to smuggle out information and secretly leak it to the outside, especially when it would only put him in a bind once the truth came to light later.
‘And the biggest reason is….’
Oh Man-seok was a stickler for the rules. Truly. He was a brutally, insanely principled man. If I had met him as a dormitory warden back in high school, he was the type of person who wouldn't let me off even once if he caught me sneaking in cup ramen. Would a man like that actually commit a violation of research ethics? He was someone who knew where the line was. Even if he had been incredibly childish.
With that thought, I moved on to my next question.
“Then what about the reporter? The question regarding the pseudoaneurysm.”
“I’m not sure with what intent you are asking that.”
He looked at me with an expression that genuinely conveyed his lack of understanding.
“…Didn't you order the reporter to ask that as well, Professor?”
“If I had ordered it, I would have at least given him the answer. The correct one.”
“….”
Ah, shit. My head is getting tangled up for no reason.
“It really wasn't you?”
At my inquiry, Oh Man-seok gave a faint nod.
“At the very least, I don't happen to know any medical journalists right now. I suppose I did a few interviews in the past, but it wasn't that reporter either.”
“Is that so.”
Whether this was a lie or not was something I could look into slowly later. For now, I decided to believe him. Just on this word.
“…Then, may I ask the reason why you are apologizing?”
At my question, Oh Man-seok stared into the void for a moment, let out a deep sigh, and began to speak in a deflated voice.
“It is an apology for my arrogance.”
For a split second, Professor Park Seung-woo’s 'Oh Man/Oh Man-seok' arrogance pun popped into my head, and I almost burst out laughing, but fortunately, I managed to hold it in. Whew.
“I believed that a genius who could transcend departments could not exist, and should not exist.”
“A genius, you say?”
“Indeed.”
Oh Man-seok wore a complicated expression.
“During my long career as a doctor, I have seen many young doctors who displayed traits akin to a genius. However, the vast majority of them fell into tunnel vision, solely searching for specific variants or rare diseases.”
Oh Man-seok looked into my eyes.
“I was simply pigeonholing you as that exact kind of human being.”
I quietly nodded at his words. So, Professor Oh Man-seok had seen numerous 'geniuses.' And the majority of those geniuses had likely missed crucial basics while trying to differentiate absurdly rare diseases, leading to fatal consequences for the patients. Because of that, he must have developed an aversion to the commonly labeled geniuses.
To make matters worse, that genius resident belonged to the Department of Emergency Medicine, not even his own department. On top of that, he was a parachute hire planted directly by the hospital president—a man who walked a path completely opposite to his own after being pushed out of politics.
‘It makes sense that he’d view me with distaste.’
He opened his mouth.
“When I was the Director of Training, wasn't the rotating doctor practically a regular fixture at the committee?”
“That is true. Haha….”
“An emergency medicine resident performing open laparotomy, SGB, UVC, REBOA… common sense dictates that you weren't exactly the standard subject to perform those procedures.”
Oh Man-seok’s expression turned wistful.
“Therefore, I believed I was making a judgment based on principles. I also believed it was wrong that the regulations were changed just for you.”
He seemed to be referring to the Doctor Helicopter regulations that had been changed by Yoon Tae-ryong. Regulations that were newly established for the blatant purpose of protecting me. Back then, at the training committee, Professor Oh Man-seok had stared at me with a displeased look even while delivering the conclusion.
“However, after watching the press conference, I realized it far too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“That my judgment was wrong.”
I looked at Oh Man-seok with wide eyes.
“And that my principles could also be wrong.”
A principled man had just admitted that his principles were wrong.
“And in the first place, the moment I treated the rotating doctor in that manner, I failed to uphold the very principles I so fiercely defended. Double standards—I believe people express it that way these days.”
Oh Man-seok let out a feeble chuckle.
“I am sorry, Doctor Han Hyeonjae.”
Having said that, Oh Man-seok rummaged through something beneath his desk and soon handed over a small sheet of paper.
[Regarding the detailed contents of the above 「Proposal for the Establishment of Acute Care Center & Chronic Care Center and Integration of the On-site Resident Duty System」, each clinical department fully agrees to defend the essential medical system of this medical center, and resolves to actively cooperate with the management of subordinate personnel and facility construction by affixing signatures and seals.]
April 20, 2030
Chief of Neurosurgery (Vacant)
Chief Professor of Neurosurgery, Oh Man-seok (Seal)
“This is the only thing I can do for you.”
“…Thank you.”
I carefully accepted the paper.
‘With things turning out like this, it feels like I'm breaking seals department by department.’
“…And I also apologize for having behaved rudely.”
Hearing Professor Oh Man-seok’s apology made me feel a bit awkward for no reason. At my apology, Oh Man-seok nodded with a faint smile.
‘Get it together, Han Hyeonjae.’
Even if I couldn't become a real genius. As long as I wore the mask of a genius, I had to do my absolute best.
With that resolve, I bowed politely and exited the room.