Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Spring Conference (4)
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After the guardian had calmed down a bit.
The patient's daughter kept sniffling but repeated her thanks nonstop as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at the corners of her eyes.
Mr. Kang Young-sik cleared his throat and patted his daughter's back.
Watching that awkward but warm scene, I instinctively knew this wasn't a place for me.
I was fated to rush right back to the ER and deal with patients who'd gotten drunk, fallen, and split their chins open—or kids suddenly spiking a raging fever.
What was the point of lingering in this heartwarming spot brimming with the miracle of life and raw emotion?
I lifted my butt halfway off the seat and opened my mouth as carefully and politely as I could.
"Ah, sir. It looks like the professor needs to handle his outpatient now... so I'll head back to the ER..."
"Huh?"
Just as I was scrambling to stand like I was making a getaway, Professor Kang Hyun-jun's low, heavy voice pinned my ankle in place.
"Hang on. Stand back there."
"Ah, yes sir."
You have to listen to the professor.
Social graces matter, after all.
In the end, I stood at rigid attention in the corner of the exam room, behind the patient's back.
Professor Kang glanced at me, his face some unreadable mix of satisfaction or whatever, then turned back to the monitor.
And so began the unwanted front-row observation of a trauma surgery professor's outpatient clinic—no one had asked for this practical training.
"Alright, Mr. Kang Young-sik."
Professor Kang adjusted his glasses and pulled up the EMR chart on the monitor.
"Let's see here. Last visit was... already three weeks ago? Time flies. You looked half-dead when we first met, but now your face is all filled out. Good."
I recalled that day in my mind.
An R1's peaceful day.
The day my entire medical career nearly got tossed into the disciplinary committee.
The day that lunatic God's Scalpel made me slice open a guy's belly.
The metallic stench of blood from that day seemed to waft back.
"How's the eating been since then? Any bloating, stomach pain, anything like that?"
"Aigoo, Professor. First couple months, you had me on nothing but porridge—thought I was a goner. But now I can chew meat! Even a shot of soju... Urk."
The patient was chattering away excitedly when his daughter's elbow jabbed his side, drawing a groan.
"Dad! Booze!"
"Ah, no! I just said I wanted some! I haven't had any, aigoo!"
"Haha."
Professor Kang let out a hearty laugh.
"No booze yet. I told you at least a year. Still a long way to full healing."
"And the bowel movements?"
"Yes, Professor. Once a day, regular as clockwork."
*Hmm, oh. Got it.*
Checking for bowel adhesions or obstructions post-abdominal surgery.
Especially in a case like his, where the gut was packed with shit and blood, the risk of loops sticking together later was high.
That's why the thorough questions on eating patterns and bowel habits.
"Good. Let's take a look at the CT from this morning."
Professor Kang clicked the mouse, and the abdominal CT stamped with today's date popped up on the monitor.
"So, looking at this image... you got it today, right?"
"You bet, Professor. Came straight from the scanner. The money I've poured into this damn hospital... Sniff."
The patient grumbled, and his daughter shot him another glare.
"Not now..."
Professor Kang scrolled the wheel, sweeping through the cross-sections top to bottom.
"Here—this is where that rebar stabbed you back then. Near the spleen by the liver... and down here in the lower part..."
Professor Kang traced the scars from seven months ago with the mouse cursor.
"As you can see, seven months back, the whole peritoneal cavity was filled with blood and pus—no way to tell organs apart. Especially this spot here, Morrison's pouch between the liver and kidney. Huge abscess."
"Aigoo, that was my gut..."
"It was. But now..."
Professor Kang zoomed in on the image.
"This is today's scan. The pooled pus and blood—all cleanly absorbed. Inflammation markers normal. This? You're cured. Cured."
I stared blankly at the black-and-white screen.
It was clean.
*Hmm, not sure about that part...*
A certain slice Professor Kang had passed caught my eye.
Adhesions seemed minimized, but part of the small intestine looked oddly bunched to one side.
Just normal positioning?
Or mild adhesion from surgery?
Could that cause pain later?
*Gotta ask the gallery later.*
I made a mental note.
*No, ask now? Hmm, tempting.*
Nah, professor's in the middle of explaining.
Hold it together, Han Hyun-jae.
I gave up on pulling up the gallery and refocused on Professor Kang's explanation.
"So, Mr. Kang Young-sik. Antibiotics done as of today. Unless something hurts, see you in six months."
"Aigoo, Professor! Thank you! Thank you!"
The patient and guardian stood, bowing repeatedly.
Professor Kang accepted the thanks, then flicked his eyes toward me.
"Don't thank just me. Give that guy over there another round too."
Professor Kang nodded my way.
"If that doctor hadn't opened your belly in the ER that day, it'd have been bad. Real bad."
"Ah, Doctor! For real! You'll be blessed!"
"No, really, it's nothing... I just..."
I waved my hands frantically, at a loss how to handle this undeserved gratitude.
That's when Professor Kang Hyun-jun looked at me with a deeply meaningful tone.
"Anyway, those are some precious hands. Han. Take good care of 'em. Don't go slashing bellies willy-nilly."
Professor Kang delivered the pointed joke with a booming laugh.
I could only manage
"Haha... Yes, Professor..."
and a smile.
Professor Kang reined in his laugh and turned back to the patient.
"Anyway, reason I called in our emergency medicine doc here—"
Professor Kang picked up a single sheet of paper.
It was stamped with the stiff title [Research Participant Information and Consent Form].
"This emergency medicine doc's got a presentation coming up."
"Pre... presentation?"
The patient blinked in confusion, glancing between me and Professor Kang.
"Ah, see, sir, there's this medical conference where..."
"Hold up, Han—no need. I'll explain."
Professor Kang smoothly cut me off.
*Roger. Back to air mode.*
"It's for medical advancement... sort of. Anyway, this guy's gonna present your case."
"You're presenting about me...?"
A hint of wariness crept into the patient's voice.
"Yes, but all personal info, anything identifying you—it's stripped out completely."
Professor Kang pointed to a section of the consent form.
"Name Kang Young-sik, resident ID, address, phone—all erased. Just 'middle-aged male stabbed by rebar, ER did this and that, survived.' Pure medical facts. If it goes well, good for him, and it helps advance medicine down the line."
"That's what you're saying..."
The patient stroked his chin, lost in thought.
"No penalty to care if you say no. We're only seeing you every six months anyway."
Professor Kang laid out the facts plainly.
The choice was entirely the patient's.
The patient glanced at me for a moment, then burst into laughter and slapped Professor Kang's desk with his palm.
"Hell, how can I say no to my lifesaver? Slice my gut or tell my story—do whatever! Here, just..."
The patient reached for the pen right then.
"Dad! Hold on."
His daughter, who'd been sitting quietly, grabbed his hand.
*Oh.*
I was impressed inwardly.
*As expected. Daughter's thorough. Yeah, can't just sign blindly.*
Important docs like this need a close read.
Sign carelessly, and who knows what trouble later.
*Take your time checking. Not because I wanna drag out my ER return or anything.*
I stood in the corner like a transparent man, watching their exchange.
The daughter took the consent form from her father's hand and began poring over the dense text line by line.
"Hmm... Research purpose... medical education and academic presentation... personal identifiers encrypted... can withdraw consent anytime..."
Finally, the thorough read ended.
She nodded and handed the form back to her father.
"Yeah... go ahead and sign, Dad. Nothing weird. They won't use personal info at all, and if we change our minds later, they stop immediately."
"Then why'd you block me? I'm not a kid."
Mr. Kang Young-sik grumbled as he picked up the pen.
"Hey! What's wrong with checking carefully?!"
The daughter flushed red and scolded her father.
"Haha, you two seem really close."
I awkwardly chimed in, and Mr. Kang Young-sik let out a big, open laugh.
"Thanks for signing."
As I took the consent form, Professor Kang drove in the final nail.
"Like it says, if you change your mind later, just contact the hospital before it's public—we'll halt it. No worries."
"Pfft, I'm not that petty, Professor."
"See you in six months then. No stories about drinking by then."
"Got it! Thank you, Professor! Thanks, ER doc!"
"Thank you!"
The patient and daughter bowed repeatedly as they left the exam room.
The door closed, leaving just Professor Kang and me.
"Whew. Done."
Professor Kang rolled his stiff neck.
"Han, you should head back to the ER too. Sorry for holding you up when you're busy."
"No, Professor! Take care!"
I bowed 90 degrees at the long-awaited dismissal and bolted from the exam room.
In my hand was that thin consent form holding someone's life story.
I felt strange.