Chapter 38

Episode 38 Aftermath (1)‌

When I opened my eyes, the first thing that greeted me was the familiar fluorescent light of the Emergency Room ceiling. And following that, horrible pain came rushing in like a wave.

"Ugh... ugh..."

With a groan, I turned my head and saw the IV line pierced into my arm. To think I was lying on a bed in the corner of the ER, receiving IV fluid. Looking at the clock, it seemed about three to four hours had passed since I fainted.

If I knew the penalty would hurt this much, I wouldn't have used it... Aaagh...

I screamed internally. This wasn't muscle pain; it was torture. That bastard, Mes of the God. He just fled comfortably to the afterlife.

As I tossed and turned in agony, the curtain next to the bed opened smoothly. It was Park Se-young. His face was a mix of fatigue and complicated emotions.

"...Hyeonjae."

Park Se-young pulled up a chair and sat next to my bed.

"How is your body feeling?"

"I feel like I'm going to die..."

"The blood test and EKG are all normal, so don't worry too much."

Park Se-young fell silent for a moment before speaking in a heavy voice.

"For now, the shock seems a bit severe, so you should write it tomorrow."

I was touched for a moment by his consideration. He was worried about my condition.

"Yes? Write what...?"

I asked back with pure curiosity. Did he mean I should do the backlogged charting tomorrow?

"The statement of events."

...

...What?

The statement of events that I know? That cursed document that details the progress and cause of an incident to be submitted, signaling the start of all disciplinary actions and lawsuits?

"It's true you saved the patient. Result-wise. But the process... you know, right? This isn't just a matter of ignoring procedures; it's a massive incident that could turn the entire hospital upside down. Professor Kang Hyun-joon from Trauma Surgery seems to be letting it slide, but the hospital ethics committee and legal team won't think that way."

Every word of his explanation became a dagger and pierced my heart.

"For now... write in great detail from beginning to end why you made that judgment today, and what the situation was. No excuses, just the facts. Follow the five Ws and one H."

He stood up from his seat.

"Write it by tomorrow morning and submit it to me. Got it?"

With those final words, Park Se-young closed the curtain and walked out. Left alone on the empty bed, I blankly stared at the fluorescent light on the ceiling.

As I lay there dazed, a buzzing sound started coming from beyond the thin curtain. They were anonymous voices, though I couldn't tell if they belonged to nurses, medical technicians, or just administrative staff.

"Hey, did you hear? There was total chaos in the Resusc earlier."

"What happened?"

"They split it."

"Split what?"

"They split the belly! The patient's belly!"

"What? Split the belly? But why? Didn't they go into emergency surgery? In surgery?"

Yes, that was a common sense reaction. But from the next conversation, the story started drifting into a crazy direction.

"No, that's the thing... it wasn't surgery, but an Emergency Medicine doctor split it."

"Whaaat?"

"And not even in the operating room, but right here in this ER Resusc!"

"Oh my god. Aren't they crazy?"

Astonishment leaked from the whispering voices. I closed my eyes. Please, stop right there.

"But do you know who split it? It's even more mind-blowing."

"Who is it?"

"They say it's a 1st-year resident! You know, the one who caught a myocardial infarction from a sore throat!"

"That person? Split it? Why? Isn't he a complete crazy bastard? Didn't he completely lose his mind and try to kill the patient?"

No, I didn't. I did it to save him. But the plea in my heart couldn't reach them.

"But do you know what's even funnier? The patient survived! And very successfully at that!"

The buzzing sound reached its peak. To those gentlemen, I was already something outside the human category. A genius and a crazy bastard.

It was just when I was being forced to overhear my reputation swinging between heaven and rock bottom in real-time.

Chwrarak.

With a loud sound, the curtain was roughly opened. It was the 4th-year, Sung-hoon Yoo. Sung-hoon Yoo pulled up a chair and thumped down next to my bed.

"...Your body."

His first words were short.

"I'm fine."

My answer was also short. We stared at each other for a moment without saying anything. In the awkward silence, Sung-hoon Yoo spoke first.

"Hey... uh... look here..."

Sung-hoon Yoo massaged his stiff neck, as if it was difficult to start speaking.

"Yes, Teacher."

"It's nothing else."

He took a deep breath and finally brought up the main point.

"Are you crazy?"

His voice was sincere. Pure 100% doubt.

"No, honestly speaking, did you just want to commit social suicide? A laparotomy in the ER. Did you want to remain a legend? Or did you just throw your life away because everything was fuck?"

Sung-hoon Yoo continued talking on his own, as if he didn't even expect an answer from me.

"No, and what's up with that hand in the first place? I remember clearly that until the middle of this year, you couldn't even catch a single IV line properly and left the patient's arm full of bruises. Don't you remember me going around tidying up after that? But with that hand, you held a mes and split a person's belly? And in that middle of chaos?"

"No, Teacher, that, I... well..."

I tried to make some excuse, but he had no intention of listening to me.

"Do you even know at all what you did? What you committed, how serious this situation currently is, do you even have a clue? Ha... forget it. Let's not talk."

Sung-hoon Yoo ruffled his hair as if he was going to tear it out, and then said with a look of resignation.

"Anyway, the statement of events is by tomorrow morning."

He looked at me again.

"Informal talk... is... ha.... Okay, why on earth did you use informal talk?"

He had an expression of being truly unable to comprehend.

"Did you have accumulated stress? Or did you watch too many medical dramas? If not that... what, were you possessed by a ghost?"

The moment I heard those words, I stopped breathing.

Oh, the correct answer came out at the end.

However, Sung-hoon Yoo soon shook his head with a look that said, 'Ah, what am I even saying.'

"Anyway, whether it's an ethics committee, a disciplinary committee, or whatever the fuck... they said it will open. Well, it's not confirmed, but it probably will. Even if you saved the patient, ignoring the procedure is a clear fact. There will be a mountain of regulations to tackle you with, like training regulations and whatnot. Anyway, write the statement of events properly."

Soon, he stood up from his seat.

"Get some rest. See you tomorrow morning."

The curtain closed again.

I sat on the bed, turned on my laptop, and blankly stared at the blank Word file before my eyes. At the top of the screen, the three characters of "Statement of Events" were struck like a death sentence for my doctor's life.

How should I write this...?

What on earth should I write to make the crazy thing I did yesterday even slightly understandable? Tearing my hair out, I visualized a few scenarios.

First. The option of honestly admitting I was crazy.

I, Kang Hyun-joon, lost my mind due to the patient's urgent condition at the time, lost my reason, and forgot my duty as a doctor, accidentally...

...It's a certification of a crazy bastard. The moment I submit this, I will be branded as a 'dangerous person who splits a patient's belly because he can't handle stress' and will be immediately referred to the highest level of the disciplinary committee. If I'm lucky, it's a suspension.

Second. The option of telling a grand lie that I was actually a hidden master.

I, Kang Hyun-joon, have usually had a deep interest in emergency trauma treatment and have secretly honed my surgical skills, and judging that the situation at the time was fully under my control with my competence...

...There is no senior in the world who would like a junior blabbering bullshit like, "I'm kind of awesome, and the patient was about to die, so I just did it myself." Not only would I be permanently buried in the doctor's office, but I would also live the rest of my life being called 'that crazy bastard.'

Third. The method of just giving up and writing.

I, Kang Hyun-joon, was burning with a hot sense of calling to save the patient in front of a fading life, and without realizing it, I received a divine revelation...

...This is a direct ticket to a psychiatric ward. The ethics committee members would be looking at a psychiatric evaluation request, not a statement of events.

"Haa... fuck."

I slammed my head onto the desk. There was no answer. Whichever path I chose, only hell unfolded before me.

At that moment, the only escape route flashed through my head. If it was those crazy bastards, they might know at least one bizarre trick to overcome this situation. With the feeling of clutching at straws, I accessed the [Dead Medic Gallery].

At the very top of the gallery's popular post list, there was a fresh post that had just been uploaded.

Title: Sharing a story about doing an emergency laparotomy today by borrowing a 1st-year's body.txt

Author: Mes of the God

That bastard...!

...All the guys around at the time were panicking and fumbling about. The ER environment was poor, but my hand isn't bound by such minor variables. As a result, it was a perfect damage control.

Trembling, I scrolled down to the comment section.

ㅇㅇ (210.94): Wow, that's insane. Possession was actually real. It's totally like a fantasy novel.

Operating Room Ghost 3 (Male): So how is the operating room these days? Is it a lot different from my time? Did you find out what the latest version of the laparoscopy machine they use is?

Hippocrates' Descendant: What is it like to experience the living world again with the body of a living person, O great surgeon! Was the air different? What was the color of the lighting?

In front of a matter where my doctor's life was at stake, those bastards were joyfully chatting as if they were sharing reviews of a VR game experience.

Korean Slave 1 (Male): Hey, you ghost who fed his social skills to a dog.

Korean Slave 1 (Male): Because of you! Because of you alone, my doctor's life is about to be smashed right now! They say I have to write a statement of events, they say a disciplinary committee will open, and I talked informally to my seniors! It's over for you after you just excitingly slashed with a knife and fled, but all this fucking tidying up is all my share, you bastard!!!!!

To my scream, Mes of the God leisurely made an appearance.

↳ Mes of the God: Do I care?

...Do I care?

↳ Mes of the God: So did they live?

Seeing that comment, I momentarily lost my words. Yes, that was the most important thing. What status is it currently in?

Suppressing my anger, I logged back into the hospital EMR system.

『Hospitalization in TICU (*Trauma Intensive Care Unit) in progress.』

I frantically read through the operation printout sheet and progress notes written by Trauma Surgery.

‘...Currently, the patient's vitals are stable, and the prognosis is considered to be positive...’

With a hollow laugh, I posted a comment in the gallery again.

↳ Korean Slave 1 (Male): Yes, they lived, you bastard. They went to the TICU. Thanks to you, their prognosis is also very good.

To my report mixed with curses, Mes of the God left a short comment as if satisfied.

↳ Mes of the God: Then that's enough haha

At those two characters of "haha," I almost slammed the table with my fist. I barely caught my reason and brought up the main point.

↳ Korean Slave 1 (Male): Give me some advice on the statement of events, you culprit of this incident.

As if waiting for my question, all sorts of ghosts rushed in and started laying out their own advice.

Hippocrates' Descendant: Speak honestly! That the soul of a great ancient surgeon dwelt in your body! Truth is the only key that will deliver you from crisis!

...If I spoke that way, instead of being delivered from a crisis, I would be hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.

Latte is Mine: I know well because I used to get dragged to disciplinary committees back in the day, but you just have to hold out with grit. 'I don't remember,' 'I was out of my mind,' 'I had no thought other than that I had to save the patient.' Just repeat these three phrases like a parrot. Then they will get tired too and lower the level of disciplinary action on their own.

ㅇㅇ (118.235): Hire a lawyer. That's the fastest.

Truck Hit Guy: I know well because I've been to a disciplinary committee, but it has a good effect if you slam your head hard on the desk once before starting. You can get sympathy votes.

Looking at the feast of bullshit filling the screen, I fell into a deep reality check.