Chapter 55

Episode 55 Chaotic First Academic Conference (4)

Everything stopped. The presenter on the stage was frozen with a deathly pale face, and even the old professor who had been dominating the room lost his words and shut his mouth.

Breaking that suffocating silence was the noisy sound of a chair scraping from the corner. A middle-aged man who had been sitting in the back walked up onto the stage. He had grizzled hair and a jacket that looked expensive.

'That person is probably the presenter's supervising professor, right?'

What must it feel like to watch your disciple's presentation get publicly demolished in front of dozens of experts? The supervising professor grabbed the microphone. His hand was trembling minutely. After clearing his throat a few times, he managed to speak in an turned-down, calm voice.

"Ah… yes…."

"Thank you very much for your very sharp criticism. It seems there was a part we failed to check in advance. I deeply apologize to the moderator, seniors, and fellow professors for the deficiency in the presentation content. We will contact the hospital immediately to take the necessary measures for the patient."

I stood up from my seat and bowed my head slightly toward the supervising professor.

"Yes. Thank you."

The moderator professor quickly called the next presenter to tidy up the awkward atmosphere. However, the air in the seminar room had already changed irreversibly. People's interest was no longer on the next presentation. Buzzing whispers continued to fill the surroundings.

I sat back down and tried my best to erase my presence. The conversation between two white-haired professors sitting in front of me was clearly heard.

"Haha, a real piece of work has appeared. Misdiagnosing apical HCM as Takotsubo—well, if the image is ambiguous, I suppose that can happen. But missing that T wave on the EKG… I don’t know what the supervising professor was doing."

"Indeed. Young folks these days lack the spirit. By the way, the fellow who asked the question just now…."

"I heard he's a 1st-year resident in Emergency Medicine."

"Haha, a terrifying guy has come up all the way from Busan."

Behind my back, the excited voices of young residents could be heard.

"Hey, did you see that just now? He completely destroyed him."

"Who is he anyway? It's my first time seeing his face."

"Han Hyeonjae. Didn't you hear him introduce himself earlier? He said he's a 1st-year Emergency Medicine resident."

"What? A 1st-year? Don't bullshit me. How can a 1st-year ask a question like that?"

"No, seriously!"

I dragged Kim Jihun out of the seminar room as if I were about to grab him by the collar. My only goal was single-minded. To escape this vicious den of scholars as quickly as possible and get a free cup of coffee from a booth visible in the distance.

"Hey, hey! Go slow! I'm going to fall!"

With Kim Jihun's screams as my background music, I hurried across the hallway. As inconspicuously as possible. As fast as possible.

Just then.

"You there."

Damn it. I stopped in my tracks. Should I pretend not to hear and just keep going? No, if I did that, a phone call might go to my section chief tomorrow morning.

'Dr. Han Hyeonjae, a 1st-year from your hospital, just ignored a professor calling him and walked away. How on earth are you training them? Haha.'

I turned around with the most polite smile in the world plastered on my face. Standing there was the exact old professor who had given me an intrigued gaze during my question earlier.

"Ah, you are that… Dr. Han… Hyeonjae."

The professor checked my name tag and nodded with satisfaction. Behind him stood two other professors of similar age.

"Haha, yes. I am Han Hyeonjae."

I laughed awkwardly and bowed so deeply my waist felt like it would fold like a flip phone.

"I am Professor Kim Hyuk-jae, the Section Chief of Emergency Medicine at Ohseong Seoul Hospital."

Ohseong Seoul Hospital. One of the hospitals reigning at the pinnacle of the Korean medical community. And the section chief of its emergency medicine department. In my mind, I was already slamming my head against the floor in a deep bow.

"Oh! Hello, Professor! I've heard a lot about you!"

Of course, I had never heard of him. But for now, I had to pretend I did. This was the survival method of a K-resident.

Professor Kim Hyuk-jae chuckled and tapped my shoulder, seemingly liking my exaggerated reaction.

"Right, right. I watched your question very impressively earlier. I like those eyes. That sharp gaze that doesn't just pass over things with an 'Ah, I see.' That's what makes a doctor grow."

"You flatter me, sir."

I didn't know what to do with myself. Even though I was receiving a compliment, my heart raced anxiously. Why on earth was this big shot acting like this to a low-ranking rookie like me?

"Uh, I am Park Jooseong from the Emergency Medicine department at Catholic University of Sacred Heart Hospital in Seoul."

Another professor standing next to him introduced himself. Catholic University of Sacred Heart Hospital in Seoul. Another giant university hospital.

"Ah, yes! Hello, Professor!"

What is this? Why do people from these massive hospitals keep latching onto me? Warning sirens were ringing crazily in my head. This was not normal. I felt like a monkey in a zoo. The big shots of Seoul had gathered to gawk at a fascinating 1st-year resident who came up from Busan. Does this look normal?

"Thanks to your question, we had a very interesting discussion. The fellow from Aseong Hospital who presented earlier must be getting chewed out like a dog by his supervising professor right now. Hahaha."

Professor Park Jooseong laughed cheerfully. I couldn't even bring myself to laugh along with that brutal joke.

"It's a sharpness that's hard to see in young folks these days. Usually, they keep their mouths shut tight in those kinds of places."

"Exactly. Such a talent was hidden in Busan. Section Chief Cheongjin must feel very reassured."

"Who is the supervising professor? Professor Cheon Eun-jeong? She raised her disciple very well."

I became a mannequin, just smiling awkwardly and nodding my head.

Please. Please just let me go. I'm just a 1st-year who wants to go home and sleep.

After a long session of evaluation, Professor Kim Hyuk-jae shoved his business card into my pocket.

"If you ever have to come to Seoul later, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime. I'll buy you dinner."

With those words, they finally released me.

And so, Kim Jihun and I watched the aftermath of the disaster that had unfolded a moment ago from a distance. In the corner of the seminar room, the Aseong Hospital team, who had just been publicly humiliated, was visible. The 3rd-year presenter, pale-faced, was hanging his head low while being fiercely scolded by his supervising professor, and that supervising professor was breaking a sweat while bowing at a 90-degree angle to another higher-ranking professor.

One of them, with a rotten complexion, pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and hastily started making a call somewhere. It was probably the hospital. I clicked my tongue watching the scene.

'The supervising professor must have been too busy to properly check the presentation materials.'

Even so, the patient would likely live. Seeing them make a call in such a panic, they were definitely saying something like, 'Contact the patient right now, tell them it's dangerous, and have them come to the emergency room!' My nosy question had ended up saving a person's life.

As I was lost in my own thoughts, Kim Jihun, who was standing next to me with an almost tearful face, poked my arm.

"But Hyunjae, what do we do?"

"What."

"Our poster presentation later!"

"What about the poster presentation? We just stand there and come back."

"No, you idiot!"

Kim Jihun punched my chest lightly with his fist out of frustration.

"Can't you grasp the situation right now? Do you know what you just did over there? You've become the hottest topic at this conference! The crazy 1st-year from Busan who demolished Aseong Hospital with facts! By now, people have probably memorized your name, my name, and even our poster number!"

I snorted at his words.

"Come on, no way. Just because someone asked a proper question once, why would people care enough to flock to a 1st-year's poster? The other residents are busy drinking coffee and chatting among themselves right now."

I put forward an extremely logical and realistic prediction.

And exactly two hours later, I realized bitterly how naive and stupid my prediction had been.

"Fuck."

Standing at the entrance of the Crystal Ballroom, I muttered as if I couldn't believe the sight unfolding before my eyes.

I had spent a reasonably productive time being harassed by ghosts, semi-forcibly listening to two other sessions, hiding from Lee Minjae, and harvesting three eco-bags and ballpoint pens from pharmaceutical company booths. And finally, at 4 o'clock, I arrived at the poster hall with a solemn heart.

Normally, the poster hall at this hour should be deserted. It was a time when most people were exhausted and spread out on lobby sofas, or preparing to leave for downtown Seoul for evening drinks.

However, the scenery in front of me resembled an idol fan signing event. Nearly dozens of doctors were densely packed into a specific area of the hall, buzzing with noise. And at the center of that crowd, two very familiar number plates were visible.

P-116. And P-117.

"……."

Seeing that sight, Kim Jihun's face turned pale, and he froze. In the crowd, all sorts of humans—from the professors I saw in the seminar room earlier, fellows and senior residents from other hospitals, to even low-years with curious faces—were gathered, staring intently at my poster and engaging in heated discussions among themselves.

"Is this the case where they diagnosed an MI through a sore throat?"

"Wow, look at the EKG changes. They caught it beautifully."

"But did a 1st-year really see this? Didn't a senior next to him tell him?"

"I heard he saw it and judged it himself."

I pushed Kim Jihun's back.

"Let's go."

"I can't go. I'm just going to die here."

"Stop bullshitting. You just have to go and stand there."

We moved our heavy feet and walked into the crowd.