Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Tutoring (4)
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“Haa….”
A short sigh slipped out.
‘Ah, I always went to bed right at 10 p.m. sharp!’
My footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Is this for real?
So she just crashes exactly at 10 p.m. every night?
A med student?
Does that even make sense?
I thought back to my own med school days.
10 p.m.?
Went to bed at 10 p.m.?
All the way through graduation?
‘…Hmm.’
Yeah, let’s ask the geniuses.
See if it’s possible.
Am I the only one who fucked up like this, or is this junior from another planet?
I flopped down onto the musty mattress in the on-call room and pulled up the blue window.
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[Undead Doctors Gallery]
EMERGENCY POLL SUPER URGENT
Posted by: Hell Joseon Slave 1
Guys how many hours did you sleep in college??? What time did you crash??
=======================
My desperate question got an explosive reaction in less than a second.
[Comments]
Anon (211.36): 3 a.m.?
└ Hell Joseon Slave 1: Average 3 a.m.?
└ Anon (211.36): Nah nah, 3 a.m. during exams. Usually 1 a.m.
Latte is bullshit: Just crashed late. After exams, pass out hard, study like crazy, pass out hard again. Infinite loop.
Hippocrates’ Heir: Latte went to a 4-year college!
I paused at the last comment.
‘…4-year? What era is that from? A fossil? Oh, right, a fossil. Dead as a doornail.’
Cardiology Ghost: But Hell Slave, why ask outta nowhere? Second-year nostalgia trip?
└ Hell Joseon Slave 1: Nah nah, this year’s first-year in our department says she goes to bed right at 10 p.m.
└ Latte is bullshit: ??????
└ Anon (210.94): ?????? A med student at 10 p.m.? Every day?
└ Hematoma is Hell: Did that kid actually graduate med school? Or just some nursing assistant program?
└ Pediatrics Ghost 77: Yo Hell Slave, you shouldn’t be posting here. She should. She’s the freak.
└ God’s Scalpel: Kid like that’s either scary smart or just brain-dead. One or the other.
‘…Yeah, even by these ghosts’ standards, she’s nuts.’
I felt a strange sense of relief.
Okay, so I wasn’t the weird one.
This freak junior was just an alien species.
How’s a goody-two-shoes like that gonna survive this hellhole…
“Han, sir! Can you check on the patient who just got triaged?”
The nurse’s urgent shout snapped me out of it. I closed the gallery window and jumped up.
“Ah, got it!”
***
4 a.m., some drunk uncle comes screaming about blood from his head.
Turns out it was his jaw that was split open.
5 a.m., a guy in his twenties gets wheeled in clutching his side in agony.
CT shows a kidney stone.
A guy’s scream at dawn was more brutal than any rock band’s shouting.
A few hours passed like that.
And finally, morning.
Me, with rotten, bloodshot eyes from the all-nighter. Baek Eun-seo, still sparkling despite it all. And Choi Su-min next to her, soul long gone.
We stood side by side at the station, finishing up the last charts.
“It’s over….”
I hit the EMR logout and leaned back fully into the chair.
‘Kiyaaah! Off duty!!!’
I practically floated up from the chair in euphoria.
My jacket stuffed in the locker, my wallet, my car key… nah, my transit card.
“…That happy about it?”
Baek Eun-seo, packing her stuff next to me, looked at me like I was some curiosity.
“Huh.”
I froze for a second.
Did my face give it all away?
“Yeah. Well. It’s off duty.”
I cleared my throat, trying to reclaim some second-year senior dignity.
“Not happy? You pulled an all-nighter too.”
“No way! I’m thrilled too! Learned EKG from you today, saw patients, such a fulfilling day!”
…Fulfilling?
Baek Eun-seo slung her bag over her shoulder and bowed 90 degrees to me again.
“Sir, you really mean I can message you with questions anytime?”
She stared straight into my eyes, like she needed a stamped approval.
Yeah, she’s the role model type.
Gotta step up for a role model.
“Of course! Hit me up anytime!”
I waved my hand grandly, full of bravado.
“Better than stewing over stuff and causing a mess later. Morning, night, whatever—just ask.”
“Really? Thank you, sir! See you next shift!”
Baek Eun-seo bolted out of the changing room with a face like she owned the world.
I stared blankly at her spirited back.
‘Eh. How many questions could she even have? A couple EKGs and done.’
I shrugged and headed out.
…And I had no idea back then.
That those “anytime” words would make me regret it to my bones, starting from my precious off-day morning.
***
9 a.m.
Woke up not to an alarm, just the blinding sunlight.
“Ugh….”
Crack, pop.
My joints creaked all over.
My precious off day.
Golden holiday.
Still in bed, I mapped out the perfect plan.
Phase 1: Lie here like a corpse all morning.
Phase 2: Get up around lunch, nuke yesterday’s leftover chicken.
Phase 3: Zone out with streaming services, brain off.
Phase 4: Order chicken again for dinner. (Roasted this time)
Phase 5: Curse tomorrow’s shift and crash.
Perfect.
Couldn’t be more perfect.
I was just about to close my eyes for Phase 1 when—
Ding-
My brow furrowed.
‘…Who the hell.’
Hospital?
With a bad feeling, I grabbed the phone from the nightstand.
The screen showed a totally unfamiliar name.
[Baek Eun-seo (EM)]
[Good morning, sir!]
I couldn’t even reply.
A first-year.
On my off-day morning at 9 a.m.?
Why?
Back when I was a first-year, I avoided even stepping on seniors’ shadows.
Ding-
Messages kept coming.
[I was studying case reports at home and this ultrasound is confusing me. Is this gallbladder wall thickening? Or just an artifact?]
Followed by a blurry ultrasound pic, probably snapped from a textbook or online.
“Ah.”
I shot up in bed.
I squinted at the fuzzy image.
Gallbladder wall thickening?
Kinda looks like it.
But if not NPO, it looks like that anyway.
Is it an artifact though?
No clue.
Can’t not know.
I hit up the gallery.
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[HELP HELP SUPER URGENT]
Posted by: Hell Joseon Slave 1
Guys ultrasound here is confusing af..
GB wall thickening? Artifact?
[Photo]
[Comments]
Latte is bullshit: Can’t you see it’s a mess? Patient wasn’t even NPO.
OR Ghost 3: That a question? Just post-meal shit.
“Phew.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Yeah, obvious.
I started typing a reply.
[Classic post-meal change. Gallbladder contracts, wall looks thick. Not pathology. Always confirm NPO status.]
[Thank you!!!]
Good. I lay back down.
***
1 p.m.
Finally nuked the leftover chicken in the air fryer.
Sacred moment, about to chomp into that oily goodness.
Ding-
“Arrrghhh!!!!”
I dropped the chicken, wiped my hands frantically with wet wipes, and snatched the phone.
[Hi sir, I looked into it and this is... (more)]
[25F, both hands swollen at the knuckles, stiff in the morning.]
[Bloods: RF negative, but anti-CCP positive?]
[Can I diagnose RA right away? Even with negative RF?]
“Arrrgh! Why ask me about RA! I’m not rheum! I’m EM! Emergency Medicine!”
I tore at my hair and opened the gallery.
Posted it, and soon a comment popped up.
Rheum Mom: Long time, my little quack. RF’s an old, low-specificity test. Anti-CCP positive? Diagnose seropositive RA even if RF negative, start DMARDs ASAP.
[Anti-CCP way more specific than RF. Positive means meets RA criteria. RF negative doesn’t matter.]
[Thank you so much sir!!!]
…By 3 p.m., with Pediatrics Ghost 77’s help, I ranted about Kawasaki criteria. At 5 p.m., Bone Otaku 88 helped me cram bone marrow. At 7 p.m., Nephro Dead helped debate ATN vs. prerenal AKI points.
And finally, 9:58 p.m.
I sat at my desk.
On my off day.
Why am I doing this on my off day.
Ding-
[Sir, real last question. MERS suspect isolation protocol...]
“Urk….”
…That’s how I unintentionally passed out right at 10 p.m., when my junior sleeps.
More like collapsed.
***
Next day, morning commute.
Showered, puffy-eyed, hopped in a cab.
‘Did I sleep? Yeah, but why more tired….’
Emergency room auto-doors slid open. I dragged my tattered soul inside.
“These days!!! Good morning!!!”
A voice not of this world grabbed me by the collar from behind.
Lee Min-jae.
Fellow now, should be quieter, but still loud as ever.
“Good morning.”
“Yeah! What a great morning today! Hope you’re doing w— what the hell?”
Lee Min-jae stopped dead, eyeing my state.
“What happened to your face? Bad food yesterday? Wasn’t it off? What’d you do on off day to end up like this?”
“…No. Nothing happened. Just a tiring thing.”
Next off day, phone goes off. For real.