Chapter 37

Episode 37 Possession (4)

"You crazy bastard! This isn't even an operating room! It's not a sterile environment! The patient could die right now from an infection! No, before that, the moment you cut this open, your doctor's license is gone! Do you understand?!" Park Se-young screamed, practically pleading. His voice was desperate.

'Blah, blah, blah. So damn noisy.' The Mes of the God monologue'd.

Inside my own body, I was horrified by that cold monologue. Is that how a human thinks? Oh, right. That bastard isn't human. He's a ghost.

The Mes of the God lightly gripped the No. 10 blade like a pen. Then, he brought the tip of the knife right under the patient's xiphoid process. And, he split it.

Swwish—

Hardly any sound was made. The blade sliced through the skin without any resistance. A long, straight incision line ran from the epigastrium, bypassing the belly button, all the way to the upper pubic area without a single moment of hesitation. The skin opened up, revealing the subcutaneous fat layer beneath.

"……!" Everyone who witnessed the scene gasped. They had crossed the point of no return.

The Mes of the God tossed the blood-stained No. 10 blade onto the tray and picked up the electrocautery. Just like that, he delved deeper without hesitation, cauterizing the small blood vessels that were spurting blood. Once the tough fascia was exposed, he took the scalpel again and made a long incision right down the center of the fascia. Finally, the peritoneum. Through the thin, transparent membrane, the silhouettes of organs writhing in a pool of blood were visible.

The Mes of the God carefully made a tiny tear in the peritoneum with the tip of the scalpel. Instantly, dark red blood, unable to withstand the suppressed pressure, came gushing out of the small hole. However, the Mes of the God did not stop. Using Metzenbaum scissors, he quickly expanded the peritoneal incision to both sides.

Finally, the gates of hell opened.

The patient's abdominal cavity was already full of a giant pool of blood. Bright red arterial blood and dark red venous blood were so tangled together that the organs looked like unknown islands floating in a sea of blood.

"Ah..." Nam Joo-hyun let out a short groan at the horrific scene.

The temporary master of my body didn't even blink an eye upon seeing that living hell. The Mes of the God grabbed a large suction tip with one hand and plunged it into the pool of blood. With a roaring sound, the machine started sucking up the blood. Then, with his other hand, he motioned with his chin toward Nam Joo-hyun, who was staring blankly at the scene.

"Ah, give me some assist."

"Retractor. That one over there. Just hold it and pull it open."

As if possessed, Nam Joo-hyun picked up the abdominal retractor he pointed to. Once his field of vision was secured, the Mes of the God picked up sterile gauze pads without delay.

One, two, three, four.

At a crazy speed, the Mes of the God skillfully began shoving the pads into the four quadrants of the patient's abdominal cavity. His hand movement was at the level of an art form. He dug precisely into the narrow gaps between the organs, tightly packing the pads exactly where bleeding was expected. The whole process happened in the blink of an eye. After a moment, the bleeding that had filled the abdominal cavity decreased noticeably.

First, the Mes of the God carefully pulled out the pad from the upper right quadrant where the liver was located. The blood didn't gush out again. It wasn't the liver.

Next was the upper left quadrant. The area where the spleen was. The moment he removed the pad that was blocking that area—

With a shhhhh sound, clear arterial blood spurted out once again like a fountain.

Found it.

Frowning, the Mes of the God blocked the area with the pad again. Then, he thrust his left hand deep into the abdominal cavity and began palpating around the spleen. I shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation transmitted through my fingertips. The spleen was completely shattered.

The Mes of the God quietly withdrew his hand. Then, he clicked his tongue softly.

"Tsk. We'll have to take it out."

At that one word, Sung-hoon Yoo and Park Se-young's faces turned stark white. A splenectomy? Here? In this Resusc room? By this crazy bastard?

Feeling their terror-filled gazes, the Mes of the God turned his head as if he found it annoying. "What, why are you looking at me like that? No matter how crazy I am, I'm not someone who would take out a spleen here." He continued to speak while applying strong pressure to the bleeding site with the pad. "I'm just making him last until he goes up to the Operating Room. Tie off the splenic artery and vein, pack everything around it, and just stop the bleeding."

The me inside could no longer hold it in. The safety of my license was a secondary issue. Right now, there was a fundamental problem that was far more important to me than that.

Use honorifics, you bastard!!!! Honorifics!!!!!!

That crazy ghost bastard was speaking completely informally to a fellow and a 4th-year senior right now! My hospital life was about to get ruined first!

The Resusc room fell silent. The temporary master of my body, the Mes of the God, looked down at the patient's blood-soaked abdominal cavity without making the slightest movement.

Breaking the silence was the sound of urgent footsteps coming from outside the Resusc room. The automatic door opened, and a crowd in surgical scrubs burst in. It was the Trauma Surgery team. The middle-aged man walking at the very front exuded a charisma that overwhelmed the surrounding air just with his physical presence.

Professor Kang Hyun-joon of our hospital's Trauma Surgery department.

And Professor Kang Hyun-joon stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the scene before his eyes.

"…."

The trauma fellow, surgery resident, and designated nurse following behind him also gaped, staring at the living hell in front of them. In the middle of a Resusc room reeking of blood. A patient's abdomen wide open. And a 1st-year resident.

Professor Kang Hyun-joon's brow twitched.

"….What is this?"

At that chilling question, the temporary master of my body showed absolutely no agitation. The Mes of the God glanced at Professor Kang Hyun-joon and opened his mouth nonchalantly.

"Ah, packing."

Without even taking his eyes off the patient's abdomen, the Mes of the God began a mechanical briefing.

"A 54-year-old male, hypovolemic shock due to a penetrating abdominal wound. Blood pressure dropped to the 50s. After confirming massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage, emergency laparotomy was performed for damage control. Confirmed a Grade 4 splenic rupture, and currently controlling the bleeding by gauze packing around the splenic artery and vein. Vitals have temporarily stabilized, but we need to get him to the Operating Room quickly to remove the spleen or do something."

The briefing was perfect. It was concise, accurate, and even presented the future treatment plan. But the content didn't matter. Professor Kang Hyun-joon's face grew increasingly rigid.

"No… I mean…." Professor Kang stammered out a question. "You cut him open? Here? In the Emergency Room?"

His voice contained pure confusion, as if asking, 'What on earth am I seeing and hearing right now?'

At that moment, the master of my body raised his head. And from his mouth, one word burst out that would shake my entire doctor's life.

"Instead of saying 'You cut him open?', shouldn't we be moving him to the Operating Room quickly?!"

Silence.

Professor Kang Hyun-joon's eyes widened slightly. Park Se-young and Sung-hoon Yoo's faces turned deathly pale.

You crazy ghost bastard!!!!!!!!!!! My soul screamed. That person is a Trauma Surgery Professor! He's a living god of this hospital's trauma section, incomparable to a mere phantom like you, you socially inept, crazy ghost bastard!!!!! My doctor's life! My reputation! Everything I have! Because of your goddamn mouth right now! It's all being shattered!!!!

Professor Kang Hyun-joon stared at the Mes of the God, who was borrowing my body, in silence for a long time. Professor Kang fell into thought for a moment, then soon shook his head with a deep sigh. His eyes held a look of resignation, as if saying, 'I don't know. Let's save the patient first.'

"…Let's move him up right now." Professor Kang Hyun-joon gestured toward his team. "Prepare for transport."

At that command, the time that had stopped began to flow again. The surgery team and emergency room medical staff moved busily to transfer the patient to a transport bed, adjusting all sorts of monitors and IV fluid lines. Amidst all that chaos, Professor Kang Hyun-joon still did not take his eyes off me. His gaze was still full of question, as if asking, 'What is this guy?'

Finally, the patient was loaded into the elevator heading to the Operating Room. Just before stepping into the elevator, Professor Kang Hyun-joon paused for a moment and muttered to himself in a low voice.

"There wasn't a professor like that in Emergency Medicine…?"

Hearing that murmur, I wept tears of blood and wailed internally. Because I'm not a professor, fuck… I'm just a screwed-over 1st-year resident.

The elevator doors closed. The Mes of the God left.

Finally, I regained control of my body.

…I want to go home. That single thought dominated my brain. At the station, the seniors were talking seriously about the incident that just occurred, but nothing registered in my ears. I needed to sit on a chair, even if just for a moment. If I didn't, I felt like I would collapse right on the spot.

I trudged toward the nearest chair.

It was at that exact moment. The muscle in my right calf began to twist violently.

"Ugh…!"

Did I get a cramp? At the sudden spasm, I involuntarily let out a short groan.

The spasm that started in my calf spread instantly like an infectious disease. Thighs, back, shoulders, arms, all the way to the tips of my fingers and toes. Every single muscle in my entire body screamed, contracting and twisting willfully.

A warning light went off in my head. I had forgotten. The last line of the skill description: Severe whole-body muscle pain for 12 hours.

I must have severely underestimated the meaning of the word 'severe'.

"Aaargh…."

Even a scream wouldn't come out properly. The strength left my legs. With a heavy thud, my body collapsed onto the cold emergency room floor.

"Whoa, Hyunjae!!" Sung-hoon Yoo's horrified voice sounded as if it were coming from far away.

I heard the sound of footsteps running toward me. But I couldn't see anything. My vision had already gone black.

"Gasp…."

I collapsed on the floor, curling up like a shrimp, barely gasping through the pain.

And just like that, I passed out. Within the abyss of hellish pain, the string of consciousness snapped.

…

……