Chapter 50

Episode 50 Poster Presentation (3)

Chirp. Chirp.

What a bullshit.

The sun is shining brightly, and the birds outside are chirping their hearts out since the morning, as if they're so happy. And here I am, taking a taxi to the hospital.

How far have I run?

In the distance, the familiar and horrible silhouette of the building began to come into view.

[Cheongjin University Medical Center Busan Hospital]

And right beneath it, the hospital's slogan was engraved like an act of hypocrisy:

「We share the pain of our patients, and ceaselessly research and dedicate ourselves to tomorrow's health.」

Looking at that phrase, I let out a hollow laugh. Why aren't they sharing my pain? Because of that damn ceaseless research, my tomorrow's health is completely disappearing.

Before long, the taxi pulled up to the entrance of the Emergency Medical Center. As I stepped out of the car, the familiar smell of disinfectant wafted through the air.

Zzzzeeeiiing—

The Emergency Room in the morning was quieter than expected. There were a few night shift nurses looking exhausted from their all-night work, and a couple of others who had just clocked in for their shift and were standing around looking clueless. In the middle of it all, a young-faced nurse sitting at the triage desk spotted me.

"Yes, what brings you here today? Where does it hurt?"

"My heart hurts..."

"Excuse me?"

The nurse’s eyes grew round at my nonsense. Just then, a veteran nurse who was doing electronic data work next to her looked up.

"Oh, Dr. Han? What brings you here? Weren't you off today?"

I smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of my head.

"...Just... yes... I have some research to do..."

At my pathetic excuse, an expression of total understanding flashed across the nurse's face. Leaving that pitiful gaze behind, I pulled my ID card out of my pocket.

Beep—

[The door has opened.]

As I entered the ER, my junior Kim Jihun (Male), who was just leaving after finishing his night shift, caught sight of me. His eyes went wide as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Han Hyeonjae (Male)? Aren't you off today? Are you crazy? Why are you here?"

Without saying a word, I gave Kim Jihun (Male) a tap on the shoulder and walked past him. My destination was a computer that could access the Electronic Medical Record system. I walked toward an empty station.

Right, I need to pull up the patient data... I should follow proper procedures first, but... Oh, right. The patient information. To present this at an academic conference, I obviously need the hospital's permission. The IRB, Institutional Review Board.

...Damn it. I completely forgot about that. To get IRB approval, I have to write a research proposal, apply for review, and wait for the committee to meet... But the time given to me right now is merely a couple of days. What on earth was Professor Cheon thinking? I am completely screwed.

Just as I was standing frozen like a stone statue in the middle of the hallway, a familiar silhouette appeared in the distance. Professor Cheon Eun-jeong. She was my savior. Or was she the Grim Reaper? Desperate to grab at any straw, I ran toward Professor Cheon.

"Professor!"

At my urgent call, Professor Cheon stopped in her tracks and looked at me.

"Why? Did you finish writing the abstract?"

'Do you really think I finished it, you person...'

Crying out on the inside, I put on the most polite and pitiful expression possible.

"Uh, well... Professor. This is actually my first time writing a case report."

"Oh, really?"

"So, um... I don't really know what to do with the patient data... or how to handle things like personal information or the IRB, so I wanted to ask..."

"Oh~ This is just a simple case report, so it doesn't need a formal review. You just have to apply for an exemption. We're going to wipe all the patient-identifying information anyway. For now, don't worry about those administrative things and let's quickly write the abstract first! I'll take care of the IRB paperwork later!"

...She knows this uselessly well. No, I suppose it's only natural for someone of a professor's rank to be fully well-versed in these administrative procedures.

I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket. It was the list of reference papers I had organized with the help of the ghosts.

"Teacher. If you happen to have a moment, this is a list of reference papers I gathered all night yesterday. Could you take a quick look to see if I'm on the right track?"

At my words, Professor Cheon's eyes sparkled with interest.

"Already? Let's see."

Professor Cheon began scanning down the list from the top.

"Mhm... let's see... 'Atypical Presentation of ACS: A Systematic Review'... 'The American Journal of...' uh... mm... oh?"

Professor Cheon's eyes grew wider, and a faint wrinkle formed between her brows.

"Hey. You... found these really well? From review articles and classic papers explaining the mechanism to the latest case reports. The organization is perfect too. You must have searched pretty hard?"

I just smiled awkwardly and replied as humbly as possible.

"Thank you. I think I just got lucky."

"The direction is excellent. Just keep going like this. Fighting!"

With those final words, Professor Cheon turned and went on her way.

I took a seat in front of an old computer. After typing in the patient's name and clicking the search button, the records from the past few days filled the screen.

"Mhm."

The first thing that caught my eye was the record from the time of admission. The vitals were stable, but the intensity of the pain the patient complained of was quite severe. It was far too excessive to be considered a simple sore throat.

"Aha, mm."

Next was the EKG trend.

"First, there was a change like this, and the one that was ultimately blocked is this blood vessel..."

I opened the Coronary Angiography report.

RCA mid 99% stenosis.

A diagnostic finding indicating that the middle section of the Right Coronary Artery was 99% blocked. It was the exact moment the prediction made by that old man, Mes of the God (Male), turned out to be perfectly accurate.

I opened a word processor, organized the collected data one by one, and began constructing the skeleton of the abstract.

About ten minutes had passed, and I hit my first wall. The sentences looked too childish and unprofessional.

'Sore throat is a very rare symptom of MI.'

What is this? It looks like an elementary schooler's essay.

Korean Slave 1 (Male): Hey, I wrote 'very rare,' but is there a word that makes 'it is a very rare symptom' sound a bit more sophisticated?

The gallery responded instantly to my question.

Latte is Mine: What a bullshit, 'very rare.' Are you writing a diary in English right now? Write it as 'is an unusual and frequently overlooked clinical manifestation' instead. Come on.

I edited the sentence exactly as he dictated. Oh. Crazy. Instantly, the quality of the writing transformed. The sentence suddenly looked incredibly scholarly.

The case description part was easy. All I had to do was objectively list the collected data. However, the final discussion section was the problem. I had to logically melt the 15 papers I found last night into this short paragraph.

Following the steps Hematoma is Hell told me last night, I began structuring the paragraph in the order of prevalence, mechanism, and prognosis.

'...According to previous studies, approximately 15% of patients with acute coronary syndrome present with atypical symptoms rather than chest pain, and among these, cases manifesting solely as a sore throat are reported to be extremely rare...'

The more I wrote, the more it felt like I was borrowing the brains of the ghosts rather than using my own. Without a single Google search, whenever I got stuck and tossed a question to the gallery, answers poured in in real-time.

Korean Slave 1 (Male): I need to write in English that the heart's pain signal goes to the neck. Can I just write, 'The pain signal from the heart goes to the neck'?

Hippocrates' Descendant reacted to my question as if he were about to have a fit.

Hippocrates' Descendant: You rascal!!!! Goes to? Goes to?!

ㄴ Korean Slave 1 (Male): Can't I use that phrase? The meaning gets across.

Hippocrates' Descendant: Are you taking an after-school elementary English class right now?! You are currently writing an English paper dealing with a case where a patient's life hung in the balance! This is not an elementary school English essay contest!

Hippocrates' Descendant: What do you mean goes to, goes to! Aren't there much higher-class, academic alternative words and expressions?! You should write 'The cardiac pain is often referred to the neck' or 'The pain frequently radiates to the pharyngeal area'! Dignity! Maintain your dignity as a scholar!

I think this is the first time I've seen Hippo's Descendant fly off the handle like that. I obediently typed out the sentences exactly as he instructed.

Receiving real-time editing and guidance from the ghosts, I forged ahead, completing the abstract at a furious speed. It was before the doctor's office clock could even make half a rotation.

My finger stopped over the enter key as I finished typing. I reviewed the completed abstract from start to finish. It was flawless. A seamless logic from introduction to conclusion. Precise data. And... a fluent, professional English that I couldn't believe I had written myself.

I checked the clock. Exactly 26 minutes had passed since I started pulling up the EMR data.

"...Crazy."

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. I saved the finished file, emailed it, and decided to go find Professor Cheon.

"Professor."

"Oh, what is it now? Did another problem come up with the IRB?"

Professor Cheon turned back to look at me, knitting her brows with a slight hint of annoyance. I showed her the screen of my cellphone confirming the sent email.

"No, teacher. Um..."

I said in the calmest voice possible:

"I finished writing everything."

...

A silence fell over the room. Professor Cheon Eun-jeong's eyes widened significantly. Her mouth fell slightly open.

"...Already?"

"Yes."