Chapter 5

Episode 5 Urgent Quest (3)

The Section Chief’s boisterous laughter echoed through the area.

Only after his heavy hand patted my shoulder a few more times did he leave with a satisfied expression, leaving behind the words, “Yes, keep working hard like that,” before walking away with the Fellow Teacher.

I didn't straighten my back from its 90-degree bow until they had completely vanished from sight.

Senior Choi Sumin was looking at me, wearing a complex smile that mixed shock, sympathy, and a hint of respect.

“Hyunjae… you are seriously good at Social Life….”

I could only offer a weak smile.

In the corner of my vision, the Quest Window was still blinking, screaming, 'Remaining Time : 00:52:17'.

I had just blown 8 precious minutes on socializing with the Section Chief.

Holding onto my tattered sanity, I pulled up an empty Station chair and sat down.

I had to find the Patient.

Area A, Resusc, Isolation Room.

All the Severe Zones within the Emergency Room were empty.

If so, there was only one remaining possibility. A Patient who had been classified as Mild or Moderate under the Severity Classification but whose actual condition was rapidly deteriorating.

There must be a Patient left unattended because a Doctor or Nurse failed to notice.

I logged into the EMR System. Along with the familiar hospital logo, the list of all Patients currently staying in the Emergency Room appeared on the screen.

Scrolling down the mouse wheel, I started opening the charts of the Patients lying in the general beds of Area B one by one.

The first Patient. A 24-year-old female, chief complaint: abdominal pain.

She came in stating her lower abdomen had been aching subtly since yesterday evening.

Vital Signs stable.

Blood test results all normal.

The charting by the Teacher who did the initial examination read, 'R/O simple gastroenteritis.'

Suspected simple enteritis.

This is just constipation or menstrual cramps. Pass.

The second Patient. A 38-year-old male, chief complaint: Common cold.

Cold?

A cold?

Runny nose, Cough, and low-grade Fever since two days ago. When asked why he came, he said it was near his company, so he dropped by after work.

This is a tertiary medical institution's Emergency Medical center.

Does he even know how much out-of-pocket copay he'll get hit with by coming here?

He could have just gone to a local neighborhood hospital's Emergency Room. If it were me, I would absolutely never come. Even just to save my own money.

Fuming inwardly, I moved on to the next chart.

The third Patient. A 45-year-old male, chief complaint: Drunk.

A Police Officer brought him in after he was found collapsed on the street.

Blood alcohol concentration 0.25%. Vitals stable. He's just sleeping. Pass.

Fourth, fifth, sixth….

Cold, body aches, headache, indigestion, dizziness, cold, cold, cold.

“Ha… Fuck.”

A Curse slipped out of my mouth without me realizing.

The strength gradually drained from my fingers as I scrolled through the screen.

Something was wrong.

Not a single person among these Patients was dying.

In fact, the vast majority of them were people for whom it wouldn't cause any problem even if they were discharged right this second.

I stopped the mouse and leaned my aching Neck back. The red Quest Window filling my vision grew even more distinct.

'Remaining Time : 00:41:03'

Time was ticking away, and instead of a clue, only my doubts were deepening.

Groan… Is the status window full of crap?

Perhaps all of this is just an elaborate show happening inside my own head.

The VEXAS syndrome Diagnosis was just a lucky coincidence, and this Urgent Quest right now is a fake bait thrown by the System to mock me.

Isn't that a reasonable doubt?

But… but I was too curious about the rewards: '1,000 LP' and 'Unlock Hidden Trait'.

And what if there really is a Patient I haven't looked at properly?

'Again, from the beginning.'

Suppressing my inner doubts, I scrolled all the way back to the top.

Patient's age, gender, underlying diseases, current medications, presence of allergies….

I compared every single Blood test value with the normal range and checked the trends by comparing them with previous test results.

I reopened the X-ray and CT reading reports, checking with wide eyes to see if there were any microscopic lesions missed by the radiology department.

However, the result was the same.

Clean. Completely clean.

A parade of textbook Mild Patients.

The shadow of death was nowhere to be seen.

In the end, I Leaned my body against the back of the chair in despair.

Time flowed mercilessly, and now less than 30 minutes remained. My adrenaline was completely depleted, leaving only deep fatigue and a sense of defeat in its place.

Where on earth is it?

'A patient dying while left unattended within the hospital.'

The sentence from the quest swirled in my head.

Am I missing something incredibly basic?

Or is the Patient not in the Emergency Room in the first place?

Ultimately, I closed the EMR window.

I couldn't find the answer through just the text and numbers on the screen.

I stood up from my Seat and began walking slowly through the Emergency Room.

I scanned the beds in Area B one by one, looking around. The Remaining Time for the quest was now just over 20 minutes.

Anxiety choked my throat, but on the outside, I pretended to be as calm as possible, acting like a relaxed Doctor doing Roundings.

Approaching one bed, I yanked open the Curtain of a sleeping Patient.

A woman in her 20s who had been sound asleep opened her eyes with a start.

“What is it, Teacher…?”

Her Eyes were full of wariness, as if saying, 'What is this crazy bastard?'

I scanned her Face and the Vital Signs on the Monitor next to the Bed for one second. Stable heart rate, normal Oxygen saturation. No problems at all.

“…Uh, it's nothing. I just came to check if your blood pressure is being maintained well. Please just go back to sleep….”

I made an awkward excuse and hurriedly closed the Curtain again.

My face burned from the absurd look I felt directed at my back.

I repeated this crazy behavior a few more times.

I lightly pinched the foot of an uncle sleeping off his Alcohol to check his response, or approached a Patient complaining of a headache and suddenly shone a light in their eyes to check the pupillary reflex.

The complaints of the Patients and the puzzled looks of the Nurses pierced my back like a Dagger.

My footsteps, wandering through the Emergency Room like that, stopped in front of Bed B-17 in Area B.

Lying on the Bed, a middle-aged Man who looked to be in his mid-50s was groaning in pain. Cold Sweat was forming in beads on his Forehead, and his Face was pale. The typical appearance of an acute enteritis Patient.

He was a Patient I had seen in the EMR earlier.

He visited the hospital with symptoms of Vomiting and abdominal pain, and was currently being monitored while receiving IV fluid under the assumption of food poisoning.

Hm, this Patient… was there anything special about him?

I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket, opened the EMR again, and checked the Chart.

54-year-old male. Chief complaint: Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain. R/O Acute gastroenteritis.

His Vitals were stable, and his Blood test showed nothing unusual other than mild dehydration.

Literally nothing special. A textbook case. There was no way a Patient like this would be dying.

Just as I was about to turn away in disappointment, the Man called out to me with difficulty.

“Excuse me… Doctor Gentleman.”

“Yes, Patient. Are you alright? Is your stomach feeling very bad?”

“No, it's not that. It's just a bit hard to get up. Could you perhaps bring me just a glass of water? My Neck is burning so much….”

Well, the water purifier is right near the Station, so I can at least do that much.

I nodded and headed toward the water purifier. I filled a paper cup to the brim with cold water.

Holding the water cup, I returned to the Patient and handed it to him.

“Here it is. Please drink slowly.”

The Man bowed his head as if grateful, took the cup, and took a sip. And then, he said something very strange.

“…Ah! Doctor Gentleman, you could have given me cold water instead of warm water, haha. Anyway, thank you.”

“……?”

I doubted my own ears.

Warm water?

Something is strange.

I surely pressed the blue cold water button on the water purifier.

Though I hadn't drunk it myself, just looking at the water droplets condensed on the surface of the cup, this was unmistakably cold water.

Yet, the Patient felt it as warm water.

“Patient, does the water perhaps feel hot to you?”

“Huh? No, well, it's not hot like lava. It's just lukewarm. It's just that I prefer cold water. Haha.”

The Man laughed it off as if it were no big deal.

But I couldn't laugh.

Warning lights Started blaring inside my head.

For now, I brushed the Situation off half-heartedly, saying, “I see. Next time I'll bring it cold,” and returned to the Station.

My Heart Started thumping again.

I immediately approached Senior Choi Sumin and explained what had just happened.

“Senior, the Patient in B-17. He's an enteritis patient, but when I gave him cold water, he said it was warm water. It seems there's an abnormality in his temperature sensation.”

Hearing my Words, Senior Choi Sumin’s eyes sparkled with interest.

The Senior opened the EMR and meticulously scanned the Patient's Chart once more.

“An abnormality in temperature sensation…. It's a very unique Symptom, but it's ambiguous to do anything with just that one thing. Temporary sensory abnormalities can come from severe dehydration or electrolyte imbalance…. Or very rarely, it could be a neurological issue.”

The Senior pondered for a moment with her hand on her Jaw, and eventually reached a principled conclusion.

“For now, let's run the Lab again and put in a consult to Neurology. Let's ask the Neurology resident on duty to take a look at the Patient.”

As expected.

There was no particular solution right now.

Because the Symptom was too ambiguous and non-specific, there was a lack of evidence to immediately suspect and dig into something.

I replied, “Yes, understood,” but my mind felt like it was burning up.

'Remaining Time : 00:08:43'

How long would it take to issue the Neurology consult, see the Patient, run the tests, and find the Cause?

Until then, would this Patient, and my quest, be safe?

Standing alone in the corner of the Station, I Anxiously stared at Bed B-17.

Ah, for some reason, it feels like that Patient… what should I do….

Should I post a thread on the 'Dead Medic Gallery' in my head? But what should I write?

'54-year-old male, showing temperature sensation abnormality along with enteritis symptoms. What does this look like?' Like this? There was no guarantee that a clear answer would come back like during the VEXAS case.

….Eh, I don't know.