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# 003. A Final Farewell
It must be a dream.
For some reason, he felt a sense of melancholy, but Han Seojun knew for certain.
He was walking through a dream right now.
It was a landscape he had never seen before.
Even when he searched through his memories, he could not recall it.
It was a mysterious space that was somehow bright yet completely covered in fog.
Where is this?
He slowly began walking forward.
He clearly remembered falling asleep while wearing the VR device, but after that, he could not remember anything.
Still, there was one thing he was certain of.
Somehow, he felt that this path had an end.
He kept walking and walking until, at the end of the path, Han Seojun saw a familiar figure he had missed so dearly.
“Hyung.”
At his words, the figure sitting on a bench and quietly gazing at the lake stood up and turned toward Han Seojun.
His face was different from the last time Han Seojun had seen him.
His skin was rough, and there were traces of injuries scattered across his body, as though he had suffered many wounds.
But even so, Han Seojun knew for certain that this was the hyung he had looked up to.
“I’m sorry.”
Those were the words of the Song Nakyoon he had missed so much.
Han Seojun knew this was a dream, but he still felt a dull ache in one side of his chest.
There were so many things he wanted to ask, but only one sentence came out.
“Hyung, why did you do that?”
But instead of answering, he simply smiled.
MSF.
He had died in a distant foreign land less than a year after joining Médecins Sans Frontières.
He had not explained much when he went there, but there must have been something inside him that drove him.
An interest in another path.
A long-held dream and sense of duty.
A desire to participate in medical relief efforts.
Han Seojun could not fully understand all of those things as his younger brother, but accepting death as the conclusion
was simply too difficult.
Wouldn’t it have been better if he had taken care of himself before thinking so much about other people?
Han Seojun felt his emotions welling up inside him.
But there was no choice except to accept it.
But that’s why you’re my hyung.
A smile naturally formed at the corner of his lips.
If Song Nakyoon had simply been an ordinary doctor, Han Seojun would never have looked up to him.
He had been Han Seojun’s guiding light in life, after all.
For a while, the two of them simply looked at each other without saying anything.
There was something they could convey to each other without exchanging words.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hyung…”
“I should have taken care of myself too, but when I saw the children dying, I couldn’t just stand by.”
“But were you satisfied?”
He nodded.
The incident had already happened, and it could not be undone.
Now it was time to let him go.
“Your mind hasn’t changed yet, has it?”
“Of course not. Why do you think I became a doctor?”
Even if his surgical hand skills were lacking, he firmly believed that he could make up for them in other ways.
Han Seojun had worked and practiced that hard.
Of course, his confidence had been worn down quite a bit recently, but he could still endure it.
Suddenly, Han Seojun felt a throbbing pain around his chest.
The scar left by his heart surgery.
Thanks to a renowned doctor who had now retired saving him, Han Seojun was able to stand here on his own two feet.
When he had risen from the brink of death as a child, Han Seojun had made a firm decision.
He would become a doctor who saved people.
In particular, he would become a cardiac surgeon like the doctor who had saved him.
In truth, the fact that he had become the doctor he had aspired to be could itself be considered proof that Han Seojun
had talent.
The problem was that his abilities lay somewhere between being a prodigy and being an ordinary person.
I wanted to become someone like you, hyung.
Han Seojun had imagined it many times.
A future where he stood beside Song Nakyoon and saved people together with him.
But that future no longer existed.
The path Song Nakyoon had been meant to walk was now something Han Seojun had to carry on his shoulders.
Han Seojun carefully opened his mouth.
“Can I become like you, hyung?”
“Of course. I guarantee it.”
Just as he said, those words brought Han Seojun tremendous comfort.
Even though he knew this was a dream and that he might simply be hearing the answer he wanted to hear.
For now, all he wanted was comfort.
At that moment, the dead Song Nakyoon extended his hand toward him.
There was something glowing at his fingertips.
“Hyung, what is this?”
“I’ll help you achieve what you want.”
Before Han Seojun could even clearly see what it was, Song Nakyoon turned around and began walking away into the
distance.
“Hyung!”
As he began walking toward the end of the lake, Han Seojun could see a boatman waiting for him in the distance.
He shouted.
“You will definitely become the greatest cardiac surgeon!!”
“Yes, hyung! I’ll definitely become the best!”
They were only words shouted across a distance, but confidence began filling Han Seojun’s heart.
Even if they were nothing more than words, for some reason Han Seojun felt his confidence, which had recently hit rock
bottom, rising again.
He felt as though he could do anything.
And in an instant, Song Nakyoon disappeared into the distance together with the boat on the other side of the lake.
I’ll see you again someday, hyung.
Han Seojun thought those words to himself, and eventually woke from the dream.
---
Gasp.
Han Seojun woke up as though he had sprung out of the bed.
As usual, he took off the VR device, only to find dried tear marks clinging around his eyes.
What on earth was that dream…
It had been an incredibly vivid dream.
He could still picture his hyung standing right in front of him.
From the very beginning to the final moment when he crossed the lake, everything remained as vivid in his memory as a
panorama.
What a strange dream.
Without realizing it, he clenched and opened his hand.
It felt as though warmth still lingered at his fingertips.
But he did not feel bad.
Even if it had only been in a dream, he had been able to see his hyung one last time.
He remained immersed in the lingering feeling for a moment before suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine.
Wait, what time is it?
He raised his wrist and looked at the watch that had belonged to his hyung.
Five ten in the morning.
Thanks to his long-standing habit, he could wake up on time no matter how tired he was or how late he went to sleep.
But today, he was ten minutes late.
A chill ran through him.
I’m going to be late!
Normally, he should at least wash up before going to work, but at this rate, he felt like he would be late.
Han Seojun hurriedly gathered his things and left the room.
---
After running as fast as he could and arriving at the cardiothoracic surgery department, he was relieved to see that he
had made it on time.
I’m not late.
In fact, even if he had been a little late, the professors would have been able to overlook it to some extent
considering the circumstances.
But more than anything, Han Seojun had to serve as an example for the interns, so he could not afford to be careless
about even one thing.
They haven’t arrived yet.
He had been assigned three interns this time.
Of course, no one knew how many of them would remain in cardiothoracic surgery, but all he could do was give it his
best.
In truth, even if he did a good job, the chance of them applying for residency was not even one percent.
Still, Han Seojun continued to make the effort.
It was five-thirty in the morning.
It was almost time to start the day.
---
A day in the life of a cardiothoracic surgery resident was incredibly busy.
Almost all the work that was supposed to be divided among several people was being carried by Han Seojun alone.
Of course, immediately after his hyung had gone to Syria, Han Seojun had spent more than a few days wondering whether he
should quit.
But they said humans were creatures of adaptation.
Once he became accustomed to the work, his routine tasks gradually became faster.
And since the interns could help with basic tasks, things were no longer as burdensome as before.
The problem is the surgeries and papers.
After giving instructions to the interns and making his rounds among the patients, he thought to himself.
The interns applying to Gyeongseong University Hospital, where he worked, were extremely capable.
It was not the best hospital in the country, of course, but the applicants were still talented enough to hold their own
anywhere.
The problem was that the departments they applied to were heavily skewed.
Han Seojun knew that this was not unique to Gyeongseong University Hospital, but whenever he thought about the reality
of it, it still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Even just looking at cardiology, the situation was completely different from surgery.
There were more than ten residents, and the competition among applicants every year was fierce.
As he dressed an inpatient’s wound with a disinfectant swab, Han Seojun complained inwardly.
I wish even one or two of them would come to surgery.
He thought that having even a single person would give him considerably more breathing room.
But that was nothing more than a vain hope.
Even after one year or two years passed, there was a very high chance that he would still be the youngest member of
cardiothoracic surgery.
Surely I won’t still be the youngest even after becoming a professor, right?
A frightening thought suddenly occurred to Han Seojun, and he immediately pushed it out of his mind.
He got goosebumps.
It was only a thought, but he had an ominous feeling that it might actually happen.
By the time Han Seojun and the interns had roughly finished their morning duties, it was seven in the morning.
If he had had some time to spare, he would have eaten something before going to the operating room, but as usual, Han
Seojun headed there on an empty stomach.
He had to finish preparing before Professor Seo Jeongwon arrived.
He could not leave everything to someone else.
Professor Seo Jeongwon himself had instructed him to handle all of it.
At least it’s fortunate that he thinks highly of me.
Except for his surgical hand skills, Han Seojun was a perfect doctor.
The other cardiothoracic surgery professors acknowledged that as well.
Since beginning his residency, he had never once missed something or made a mistake.
Considering how residents in their second or third years from other departments frequently made mistakes and got
scolded, the difference was obvious.
After finishing a brief briefing in the operating room, Nurse Lee Seonyeong approached him.
“Is everything okay in the emergency room?”
“They said they were short on nurses to assist with surgery today. It’s something I do often anyway.”
“I see.”
She whispered cautiously so that no one around them could hear.
“By the way, I heard you’re highly regarded among the nurses.”
“Me?”
“They said you’re the only doctor who never leaves out an order, never makes us correct one, and never deletes one.”
“Well, that’s just something I should obviously be doing.”
Her expression became strange.
What he had just said was completely detached from reality.
“You’re joking, right? You know what the other doctors are like.”
“Haha. Let’s just say that’s how it is.”
Han Seojun scrubbed his hands to eliminate any bacteria and gave a vague answer.
“Anyway, thank you.”
“For what?”
“You’re the only one who doesn’t ignore us.”
Hearing that made him feel conflicted.
He knew very well how the other doctors behaved.
Most nurses gave residents plenty of information, but they did not receive much in return.
It was because they were often treated almost like subordinates.
But when it came to patients, close cooperation and communication between both sides were essential.
Perhaps because of that, mistakes and problems often occurred.
But ever since Han Seojun had been a new resident, Song Nakyoon had drilled this into him until his ears practically
bled.
You must never treat them like that.
Because of that, Han Seojun had become something of a rarity within the hospital ward.
His scrubbing was finished.
“If we’re going to treat patients, both sides have to do their best.”
At Han Seojun’s words, she looked somewhat unimpressed.
“I wish the others thought the same way as you, Seojun.”
The two of them cautiously headed toward the operating room.
At the door leading into the operating room, Han Seojun took a deep breath and calmed his mind.
Let’s do well today.
---
After waiting for a short while, Professor Seo Jeongwon appeared.
He had the same stern expression as always.
Perhaps his perfect procedures were the result of his ability to control his emotions to an extreme degree.
Looking at Han Seojun, he said,
“Perfect preparation again today.”
“Thank you.”
It was not merely a customary compliment.
Han Seojun knew Professor Seo Jeongwon well enough to understand that.
From the exact location of every instrument he wanted to a complete understanding of the patient, there was not a single
thing he could criticize.
If only I had the surgical skills.
But even if everything else was perfect, the foundation of a cardiothoracic surgeon was surgical hand skills.
If that did not improve, it would be difficult to entrust his legacy to Han Seojun.
The professor spoke.
“As you heard beforehand, today’s patient is a 63-year-old man suffering from arteriosclerosis. We’ll perform coronary
artery bypass surgery, but we won’t be using a bypass device.”
Han Seojun drew a sharp breath.
It was a difficult surgery.
Of course, leaving the patient’s heart beating would be much better for his prognosis.
But that also meant the patient’s physical condition was poor enough to warrant such a difficult procedure.
Nevertheless, Han Seojun trusted the professor’s judgment.
He was a cardiac surgeon who ranked among the best both within the hospital and throughout the country.
“Then let’s begin. Scalpel.”
“Yes.”
But the moment Han Seojun reached for the scalpel, strange letters began appearing before his eyes.
What is this?