Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Wrapping Up Year One (Complete)
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Late December.
The hospital was buzzing with end-of-year chaos.
But for us, late December held another meaning entirely.
“New resident acceptance announcements.”
The fateful verdict that would decide the quality of my life for the coming year.
Would we finally get some new slaves… er, juniors to lighten our on-call burden?
All afternoon, Kim Ji-hoon and I kept refreshing the hospital’s internal network bulletin board whenever we had a spare moment.
The F5 key was on the verge of wearing out.
“When the hell is it gonna show up?!”
Kim Ji-hoon gnawed anxiously at his nails.
“It’s supposed to be up this afternoon, like they said!”
“Shut up for a sec. It’ll appear when it does.”
I acted cool on the outside, but my heart was pounding just as anxiously.
That’s when it happened.
The page refreshed, and a new post popped up at the very top of the list.
[Notice] Final List of Accepted Residents (Year 1)
“It’s up!”
Kim Ji-hoon and I shouted at almost the same time, shoving our heads together in front of the monitor.
“Oh… where is it… let’s see…”
I scrolled down like a madman.
“Found it!”
[Emergency Medicine | Positions (TO): 4]
Four positions.
Yeah, same as last year.
And below that, please let there be four names.
[Baek Eun-seo]
[Park Seong-jeong]
Two applicants for four spots…?
Arrrgh.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Only two names.
But amid the despair, one familiar name caught my eye.
“Park Seong-jeong? He ended up in EM after all…?”
“What?”
Kim Ji-hoon, who’d been wallowing in despair beside me, looked up.
“That intern you dealt with, the one with the thing up his ass? Why the hell did he come here? Revenge on you?”
“Shut up, Kim Ji-hoon.”
I swallowed the snark and checked the other name.
Baek Eun-seo.
The one who came by to submit her application last time.
“Hmm, well. Not bad.”
I tried to console myself.
Better than zero.
“Hey! Two people! Just two! Half the spots! That means we’re still pulling Year 1-level shifts next year too! Our lives are doomed to be a nonstop whirlwind!”
“Better than zero, you idiot.”
Better than nothing.
“What about the other departments? Are we the only ones screwed?”
Following Kim Ji-hoon’s lead, I scrolled through the other departments’ lists.
“Internal med and surgery filled most of theirs okay. Oh… OBGYN got wiped out?”
[Obstetrics and Gynecology | Positions (TO): 3]
[none]
[Pediatrics | Positions (TO): 5]
[none]
“Aigoo…”
Kim Ji-hoon clicked his tongue.
Why even bother putting [none] if they’re leaving it empty?
“Oh, hey. Thoracic surgery got one. That guy’s nuts.”
[Cardiothoracic Vascular Surgery | Positions (TO): 2]
[Jeong Jae-sang]
Kim Ji-hoon and I let out admiring exclamations in unison.
We were busy gossiping about the rise and fall of other departments like it was appetizers when a chill shadow fell over our backs.
“Hyun… jae.”
“Don’t talk to me, Kim Ji-hoon. I’m busy right now checking which departments tanked and which survived.”
No sooner had I finished than an icy voice came from behind me.
“Aren’t you… working…?”
“Eek.”
I nearly screamed.
I whipped around to find Professor Cheon Eun-jeong standing there, arms crossed, glaring down at us.
“Professor Cheon! Oh man! I didn’t even notice you there!”
I shot up from my chair and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“Of course we’re working! Absolutely! Right now!”
Clatter clatter.
***
Time marched on relentlessly.
Countless patients passed through my hands, and my first year as a resident faded away amid endless nagging from the ghosts.
And so February 11th arrived.
A resident’s year starts in March and ends the following February.
The end of winter meant the end of the year. And at that end, there was always farewell.
The Emergency Medicine department-wide dinner.
The venue was a barbecue joint right in front of the hospital.
From the fresh-faced new Year 1s to the Year 4s leaving the hospital for good today, and even the professors.
I just sat there dazed, fiddling with my beer glass.
R1.
Resident Year 1.
That hellish time was really coming to an end.
While meat sizzled and glasses clinked for a good while, Director Park Woong slammed a spoon against the grill.
“Alright, everyone, listen up!”
The noisy restaurant fell silent in an instant.
“Today’s gathering is to send off our proud Year 4 seniors, who’ve devoted their youth to Emergency Medicine these past four years. You’ve all worked so hard! Everyone, give them a round of applause!”
Applause erupted.
Clap clap clap.
I clapped until my palms hurt.
“Now, let’s hear about their bright futures! Dr. Yoo Sung-hoon, what’s your plan?”
Year 4 Yoo Sung-hoon stood up.
“Well… I got lucky and snagged a fellowship in critical care at Oseong Seoul Hospital here in Seoul.”
“Whoa! Sung-hoon’s moving up to the big leagues!”
Exclamations of admiration rose from all around.
“Dr. Kim Min-wook, where are you headed?”
Kim Min-wook, someone I barely recognized since we never crossed paths much, stood up.
“I’m wrapping up life in Busan and heading down to take the director position in Emergency Medicine at a general hospital in my hometown, Tongyeong. Time to live a little easier.”
Everyone burst into envious laughter.
Yeah, that’s a path too.
“Exactly. Contributing to local healthcare back home is a noble choice. Alright, last one! Our department head! Lee Min-jae?”
All eyes turned to Lee Min-jae.
Rumors had been swirling for months that he was prepping for a fellowship at Aseong Hospital, one of the biggest in the country.
Lee Min-jae stood with a solemn expression.
“Yes, everyone. I…”
He paused for a moment.
Then shouted at the top of his lungs.
“I’m staying!!!!”
Silence fell.
Staying? Where?
“I, Lee Min-jae, will bury my bones here, at Cheongjin University Medical Center, where I’ve devoted my youth and soul!”
Right then, a loud “Pfft!” came from the professors’ table.
I turned to see Professor Cheon Eun-jeong choking on the water she’d just spit out, coughing her lungs up.
“What? What’d you say, Min-jae? Staying? Staying where?”
“Didn’t you know? I figured you professors already did. I’m staying right here at Cheongjin Medical Center! I can’t leave the ER—or any of you!”
“Haha, what is this? Was I the only one out of the loop?”
What? Even the professor didn’t know?
Professor Cheon looked around in confusion, and the director across from her burst into roaring laughter.
“Professor Cheon’s always been so hard on Min-jae and teasing him, so I kept it a secret from you specifically! Surprise!”
“Director!”
Professor Cheon shot him a betrayed glare.
Now that everyone grasped the situation, laughter erupted everywhere.
Lee Min-jae’s surprise bomb lit the party atmosphere on fire.
After a long bout of chaos, Director Park Woong raised his voice again.
His gaze landed on two young faces sitting almost invisibly at the far end of the table.
“And we have some very special guests here today!”
Every eye turned to Park Seong-jeong and Baek Eun-seo.
The incoming Year 1s.
“Our prospective Year 1s are here too! How does it feel? What are your impressions of being here?”
At Director Park Woong’s question, Park Seong-jeong’s face drained of color.
“Uh… I… um… EM is… really… great… yeah… The seniors are all great too… I’ll learn a lot…”
Laughter broke out here and there at his soulless response.
“Dr. Park Seong-jeong, looks like you need to practice your poker face before medical knowledge. Haha!”
With Park Seong-jeong’s initiation rite over, eyes naturally shifted to Baek Eun-seo beside him.
“Alright then, Dr. Baek Eun-seo, why’d you choose here? Love Emergency Medicine? Or just went with the grades?”
At Director Park Woong’s teasing question, Baek Eun-seo stood up.
“Oh, me? I applied after seeing Senior Han Hyun-jae perform a laparotomy on a patient!”
Silence in an instant.
Every noise in the bustling barbecue joint stopped dead, like a lie.
The pork rib I’d been about to eat dropped straight back onto my plate.
And one second later.
“Hahahahaha!”
Lee Min-jae’s belly laugh shattered the quiet.
His laughter ignited the whole restaurant into an ocean of guffaws.
“Wow, an intern who saw that lunatic and still applied to EM? Who’da thought!”
Lee Min-jae was laughing so hard he was tearing up.
“Prospective Year 1.”
Year 4 Yoo Sung-hoon from the next table over held back his chuckles to give serious advice.
“You can’t go crazy like Han Hyun-jae and slice open patients’ bellies, got it? He’s just a freak mutation. A freak. He put his license on the line. Total madman.”
“Yeah! And he even used informal speech with the patient!”
Fellow Park Se-young chimed in.
My face burned red with humiliation. I ducked my head and chugged my soju.
“Ahh, why bring up old stories again?!”
My protest drowned in the massive wave of laughter.
“It’s not even that old! Just a few months ago.”
Lee Min-jae teased me while refilling my glass.
I downed it in one go.
Ah, bitter.