Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Illegal Doctor
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Surgical Director Lee Jeong-ho emerged from the operating room, where Kim Jung-seok quietly spoke to him.
"Director. I found him."
"What? Where?"
Kim Jung-seok glanced around cautiously.
"But there's a bit of a problem."
"Let's head to my office quick."
In Surgical Director Lee Jeong-ho's office, Kim Jung-seok explained what had happened at the PC bang. He also mentioned that the intersection near the PC bang was the exact same spot where they'd discovered the injured man before.
"He claims it's not him, but from what I saw, it has to be Na Gang-in. The patient we first witnessed that suturing technique on was injured right there at that intersection."
Lee Jeong-ho nodded gravely, his expression serious.
"Yeah. It can't be a coincidence. No, it shouldn't be."
"Definitely. He's probably hiding it for some reason."
One reason to hide it came to mind. Lee Jeong-ho felt a heavy weight in his chest.
"He really doesn't have a medical license?"
"That's what he says, but... I'm not so sure."
"Hm..."
Lee Jeong-ho pondered deeply for a long while. Kim Jung-seok watched him anxiously.
After much deliberation, Lee Jeong-ho made up his mind.
"I need to meet Na Gang-in myself."
"If you go to that PC bang now, he's probably still there."
"No. If there's really an issue with his medical license, we can't talk there. We need somewhere quiet. Jung-seok, set something up for me. Please."
"Yes, sir. Even if Bora chews me out, I'll make it happen. We have to save Yeon-ji."
Lee Yeon-ji showed up at the PC bang.
"Hello!"
Na Gang-in asked.
"What brings you here?"
Lee Yeon-ji beamed.
"They said if I came here today, I could eat all the tasty food I want!"
"Who said that?"
She waved her smartphone.
"Eun-ha unnie and Bora unnie texted me. They said today's food is even better than what we had in the hospital room back then!"
"Today's stuff is a bit spicy, though?"
"I love spicy food!"
"You'll have to pay, you know."
"What about student discounts or friend discounts?"
"Nah, no such thing. Seven thousand won a bowl today."
"Two bowls, please!"
Shin Eun-ha pointed to the corner of the PC bang.
"That's our hideout. Let's eat there. But do you play games at all?"
"I know how, sort of."
"Unnie will teach you. Eat up and then we can play."
Na Gang-in chimed in.
"They say she's top of her class."
"Exactly, so even if her ranks slip a bit, she'll still be in the top tier. No big deal."
"How'd the conversation go there?"
Kim Jung-seok called Lee Bora and asked her to arrange a private meeting with Na Gang-in. She passed the message on to him.
Na Gang-in said.
"Somewhere we can talk quietly?"
Watching Lee Yeon-ji gleefully gaming in the corner booth, Na Gang-in replied.
"I'll be at the workshop this evening, so tell him to come there."
"Got it!"
That evening, Surgical Director Lee Jeong-ho made his way to Na Gang-in's fabrication base on the outskirts of Seoul.
Stepping out of his car, Lee Jeong-ho tilted his head at the rundown building with a small sign reading 'Earth Union Workshop'.
"This the place?"
He double-checked the address and rang the bell. Moments later, Na Gang-in opened the front door.
Lee Jeong-ho quickly bowed in greeting.
"Hello. Na Gang-in, Doctor."
"Come on in."
Lee Jeong-ho stepped inside the shabby building and was immediately stunned.
The equipment inside was no joke. Four large monitors caught his eye first. Servers and all sorts of cutting-edge fabrication gear were placed around the space.
A bit tense, Lee Jeong-ho asked.
"This place... is it some kind of research lab?"
"Just a spot where I tinker with this and that on my own."
Lee Jeong-ho had only heard that Na Gang-in was a martial arts director. He'd witnessed his incredible skills firsthand during the Cheongpyeong Lake battle.
He suspected Na Gang-in might be the man they were looking for, but he wasn't fully convinced.
Seeing this place changed that. He realized he'd been mistaken all along.
'This guy's not just a martial arts director. What the world knows is just the tip of the iceberg.'
A spark of hope ignited.
Na Gang-in said.
"Have a seat. Coffee?"
"Yes, please."
Lee Jeong-ho sat at the small table. Na Gang-in brought over two mugs of coffee, set them down, and took the seat across from him.
"You were looking for me."
Lee Jeong-ho steadied his breath and spoke.
"I have a daughter."
"I know about Yeon-ji."
Na Gang-in had agreed to meet because of what Bora had said earlier.
- Jung-seok oppa's mentor is Yeon-ji's dad, and he really wants to meet you about Yeon-ji's issue.
A little tense, Lee Jeong-ho asked.
"Have you heard of Keitiger syndrome?"
Na Gang-in quietly called out to his AI, Jeon Ji-in.
"Ji-in. You know this disease?"
- I have injury diagnosis skills, but no standard disease diagnosis skills. I don't know it.
Seeing Na Gang-in hesitate, Lee Jeong-ho explained first.
"It's only natural you wouldn't. Hardly any doctors know about it. It's a new rare disease discovered two years ago—didn't exist before."
"Is it hard to treat?"
"We don't even know the cause, and there's no cure. Mild cases can be handled with surgery, but severe ones..."
"Surgery's difficult?"
Pain crossed Lee Jeong-ho's face.
"Surgery's the only option for this disease. But in severe cases, standard techniques won't work."
Na Gang-in caught on to why Lee Jeong-ho had come.
"Yeon-ji has it?"
"Yes. Keitiger syndrome."
Lee Jeong-ho let out a deep sigh.
"Yeon-ji wants to be an actress. I used to think otherwise, but now I figure that's fine too. She should chase her dreams. And she's so good at school—top of her class, you know."
"I know. She bragged about it."
"She loves running around like that, and with her grades, she could balance acting and studies. But..."
Lee Jeong-ho sighed again.
"Right now, I can't let her. If she becomes an actress, she'll have to push through grueling schedules, and that's way too dangerous."
Na Gang-in asked about the illness.
"When did she get it?"
"No idea, but we found out three months ago."
"You said it's a new rare disease. Did a specialist confirm it?"
"Keitiger syndrome was identified by two American doctors and one Korean. That Korean doctor... is me."
"Ah..."
Lee Jeong-ho hung his head.
"Pretty pathetic, right? Parading around like an authority on the disease while clueless about my own daughter's condition..."
Lee Yeon-ji ran around energetically, ate well, had a bright personality. She was tough enough not to panic even when chased by that drug cartel.
"I had no idea she was sick."
"That's the disease's hallmark—no outward signs. But it's a time bomb waiting to go off. No harm until it does, then one hundred percent fatality."
Na Gang-in now grasped how dire Yeon-ji's situation was. The key was whether there was a solution.
"Can Yeon-ji undergo surgery?"
Lee Jeong-ho shook his head.
"No. Not with standard methods."
"Hm... But you came to me anyway, so there must be a reason."
Lee Jeong-ho asked cautiously.
"You are a doctor, right, Na Gang-in?"
"No."
He'd already heard as much from Kim Jung-seok. Still, he wanted to hear it directly.
"I'm not asking if you're a specialist. Did you pass the medical licensing exam?"
"No."
"Then you graduated from a foreign med school?"
"Never even attended med school."
Lee Jeong-ho's expression darkened, edging toward despair.
"There was an accident at that intersection near the PC bang. Someone on-site sutured a patient's wound and saved his life. Incredibly fast. That was you, right, Na Gang-in?"
Lee Jeong-ho waited anxiously.
'If he denies it this time, what do I do?'
AI Jeon Ji-in explained.
- That injured man had an 87% chance of dying before the ambulance arrived without hemostasis. Field emergency surgery could boost one-hour survival to 99%. That's what got him to the OR.
Na Gang-in replied.
"He looked like he'd die before reaching the hospital if I did nothing. Gotta save a life first."
Lee Jeong-ho's face lit up.
"It was you!"
But a question arose.
"And yet you're not a doctor?"
Na Gang-in shrugged.
"I just know a bit of basic first aid for injuries."
"That doesn't make sense. How's that 'basic' or 'a bit'?"
"It's true. Can't even diagnose a cold."
Lee Jeong-ho pressed urgently.
"What about that suturing? That sewing-machine-fast, perfect stitching?"
It was the most crucial part for him.
Na Gang-in answered.
"My hands are quick, so I'm good at sewing."
Back then, it was the 2082-model combat support AI Jeon Ji-in using Na Gang-in's hands to suture the wound.
Lee Jeong-ho couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Just hand skills to suture that wound? Impossible. There was massive bleeding—you precisely located and ligated the vessels."
He believed only doctors could do that. That was his common sense.
Now that common sense was crumbling.
"Only a seasoned surgeon could..."
Another possibility hit him. Vessels aren't exclusive to humans.
"Or maybe a veterinarian..."
Na Gang-in bluffed.
"Learned from internet videos."
"Pardon?"
"Tons on NewTube. Related videos."
Lee Jeong-ho's eyes wavered. An example supporting Na Gang-in's claim popped into his head.
"NewTube? Doctors in underdeveloped countries do learn surgery from NewTube videos sometimes..."
The man had handed him evidence. Na Gang-in jumped on it.
"Yeah, that's it. That's how I learned."
"No, those people at least graduated med school. How could you do it with just videos, no med school?"
"Worked for me."
"This doesn't add up..."
Lee Jeong-ho was in Na Gang-in's fabrication base. He looked around.
Na Gang-in had invested his earnings to upgrade the gear substantially. Sleek, high-tech equipment gleamed everywhere.
Lee Jeong-ho wasn't an expert on such machinery. But he'd handled plenty of advanced hospital equipment and kept up with new medical tech info.
So he had an eye for it.
This wasn't some ordinary personal workshop.
'Full of secrets. Probably where he learned that suturing technique is one too. That's why he's holding back...'
But he couldn't give up. His daughter didn't have much time left.
Lee Jeong-ho dropped the questions and bowed his head in plea.
"Please help. I want to operate on Yeon-ji."
"I'm not a doctor, like I said."
"I'll take your word for it. And I don't care. Just handle the suturing during her surgery."
Na Gang-in tilted his head slightly.
"You said surgery's impossible."
"With standard methods, yes."
He'd said as much earlier.
"But if you assist with that sewing-machine technique, there's a way."
"Hm..."
Na Gang-in quietly asked.
"Ji-in. Possible to collaborate with another doctor on just suturing, treating it like an injury scenario?"
- If we frame the surgery as a field injury situation, yes, I can handle suturing.
Now he knew it was feasible.
Na Gang-in asked Lee Jeong-ho.
"Any other issues with that?"
"Well..."
Lee Jeong-ho hesitated.
'I thought he'd at least gone to a foreign med school. That's why we couldn't find him domestically.'
A serious problem loomed. He wanted to hide it, but he couldn't. If Na Gang-in found out before surgery, it would be disastrous.
Lee Jeong-ho forced the words out.
"It violates medical law."
"Who does?"
"Anyone operating in the same OR as you."
Na Gang-in was caught off guard.
"Uh..."
AI Jeon Ji-in warned.
- If you're arrested, Agent, mission performance will be impaired.
Na Gang-in sighed.
"Performing surgery without a license means arrest."
"Yes..."