Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Illegal Doctor III
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Cha Eun-seo jumped in surprise when she heard that Lee Yeon-ji was getting surgery.
"Huh? Why? Are you hurt somewhere? It can't be something serious, right?"
Lee Yeon-ji laughed and waved her hand.
"Nah, I'm fine. But Dad says I need to do it now, so I don't suffer later."
Cha Eun-seo let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest.
"Phew. Good thing it's not anything major."
Na Gang-in stared at Lee Yeon-ji silently.
'She hasn't told her it's a fatal disease without surgery.'
He could guess why.
'It's incurable anyway, so they didn't want her spending her remaining days in a hospital bed. Parents can handle the worry on their own.'
Na Gang-in had planned to sell fried rice today. With his Field Tactical Cooking skill, he could whip up large batches easily.
But he changed his mind.
"Let's do street food today."
Lee Jeong-ho still didn't know much about the disease. So he'd tried various general precautions, one of which was avoiding street food.
But since there wasn't solid evidence for that precaution, he hadn't strictly forbidden it.
"Yay! I love street food! Can we do tteokbokki?"
- Sure.
Na Gang-in declared,
"You're about to taste legendary tteokbokki today."
Lee Jeong-ho said to the surgical department doctor Kim Jung-seok,
"We've decided to do the surgery."
Kim Jung-seok was startled at first, then his whole face lit up.
"Finally! That's great news, Section Chief."
"Yeah, it is."
"So we're doing it at our hospital?"
"Well... no. The surgery's elsewhere, then we'll admit her here afterward. Look after her closely then."
"Of course! So where's the surgery?"
"Uh..."
"Why the long face?"
"It's... better if you don't know."
Lee Jeong-ho held back. But Kim Jung-seok had already met Na Gang-in.
"Is it Na Gang-in? His license got revoked... Yeah, he can't enter an operating room. That's why no one could find him, and he wasn't answering calls. That's why you said he had no license when I asked at the PC bang?"
"It's not that..."
"Come on, no need to hide it from me. I already know everything."
"That guy's not actually a doctor."
"Yeah, his license was revoked..."
"He says he never even went to med school."
"What? That doesn't make sense. How'd he suture those wounds from the intersection accident then?"
"He learned from the internet."
"Pardon?"
Lee Jeong-ho relayed exactly what Na Gang-in had told him.
Kim Jung-seok listened with a bewildered expression, then looked at his own hands.
"Wow. It took me six years of med school plus residency to get this good, and this guy's self-taught online to that level..."
"Apparently some people just have it."
"Section Chief, I'm feeling inadequate here."
"But you understand the patient's condition way better. He admitted he couldn't even diagnose a cold."
Kim Jung-seok accepted it easily.
"He must've specialized solely in suturing techniques."
"Probably."
"So the surgery's..."
"I'm telling you this because I trust you. It's at my brother-in-law's hospital."
"Pardon? Isn't that a plastic surgery clinic?"
"Exactly."
"How's that gonna work?"
Lee Jeong-ho explained the plan.
After hearing it all, Kim Jung-seok asked,
"You found an anesthesiologist?"
"No. No one we can trust to keep it secret. So we're putting my brother-in-law on it. He doesn't have formal anesthesiology quals, but he has experience."
"So anesthesia to your brother-in-law, and I assist on the surgery..."
"Huh? You too?"
"Why? It's for Yeon-ji. Were you gonna cut me out? Who's better at assisting on this in the country?"
Lee Jeong-ho tried to dissuade him.
"Hey, if we get caught, license revocation's the least of it. You could go to prison."
"Then we don't get caught. We all just keep our mouths shut. We're good at that, right?"
"Anyone involved who talks gets arrested, no exceptions. Especially me—straight to jail as the ringleader. So no one's spilling."
"But between us, will Na Gang-in keep the secret tight?"
"He's more famous than us, so he'll be extra careful."
"Ah, right. Being in entertainment..."
"Tonight, we're syncing up on a surgery dummy."
"Smart move. Can't go into Yeon-ji's surgery cold. I'll be there."
That night, they gathered in the plastic surgery operating room.
Kim Jung-seok greeted Na Gang-in.
"Didn't realize back in the hospital room you had skills like this."
"I can't treat diseases. Just emergency wound care."
"More than 'just' from what I saw."
"Planning to tell Bora about this?"
Kim Jung-seok waved it off.
"Only the people here tonight know. I won't tell a soul. Not even Yeon-ji."
Lee Jeong-ho set up model organs and blood vessels on the operating table. The vessels were oddly shaped, like tangled vines.
Lee Jeong-ho explained,
"Custom dummy made for Yeon-ji's Keitiger syndrome."
Kim Jung-seok added,
"Custom's pricey, so we ordered extras to lower the unit cost. The Section Chief and I practiced and tested a ton—only three left now."
"Won't need 'em after this surgery. Use 'em all today."
Lee Jeong-ho explained to Na Gang-in,
"We can't stop the heart deliberately for this. Once it stops in these patients, it won't restart, no matter what."
"Do you know why?"
"No. Disease was only discovered two years ago. Rare, so scant clinical data. Plus..."
"There's more."
"The recent US case—the dad was the doctor who discovered it with me."
Na Gang-in paused.
"Uh... too coincidental for chance. You three researched it together? The other one?"
"No kids."
"Ah."
"Makes me wonder if discovering it cursed us. Like the pyramid curse. Ridiculous, of course."
Lee Jeong-ho shook his head to clear the stray thoughts.
"Anyway. Let's start. Speed is life in this surgery."
The dummy practice went smoothly.
Lee Jeong-ho incised and shaped the organs and vessels; Na Gang-in sutured right after. AI Jeon Ji-in projected hologram overlays of expected vessel paths. Thanks to that, Na Gang-in could see vessels hidden inside dummy organs or filled with red-dyed fluid.
After testing Na Gang-in's skills, the mood brightened immensely.
Lee Jeong-ho, brimming with hope, briefed the surgery plan.
Na Gang-in whispered as he watched,
"You get any of that?"
AI Jeon Ji-in replied,
- No clue.
"You're doing all the suturing."
- I think like you, Agent. So my comprehension matches yours.
AI Jeon Ji-in used external modules for combat support or emergency surgery calculations—like a human using a computer or specialist gear.
"Hey, I'm not clueless about everything. Normally, I grasp the essence with sharp insight."
- Same here.
The plastic surgeon Son Seong-hyeon, listening to the plan, said to Na Gang-in,
"How about joining our clinic? Your precision plus speed—we'd rake in cash partnering up."
"And if caught, we'd hold hands into a cell?"
"Ah... right, not a doctor. Skills fooled me. Ha, haha. You're really not?"
The surgery was set for two days later.
Lee Yeon-ji's parents and Kim Jung-seok took leave to prepare. Clinic director Son Seong-hyeon gave staff vacation days and shut the doors.
Son Seong-hyeon complained,
"Short on meds. Where do we even get blood?"
Lee Jeong-ho said,
"If caught, we're all jailed anyway. You and your sister forge papers for meds and blood."
"We're really going all-in. Penalties'll be brutal if busted."
"Quit whining and double-check OR setup."
The actors attacked by the cartel—who instead got wiped out—made foreign news too.
Omega Tech president Scarlett Kelly scrutinized one photo from the article.
Her Korean grandma made her fluent in the language.
She searched Korean sites for more Shin Eun-ha pics, finding one with a hole in her outfit. High-res too.
The outer layer was slightly lifted, exposing the inner wear.
She zoomed in.
"That's it, right? Ironclad Arts' Dragon Plate."
Her friend and secretary Jessica walked in with a report and saw it.
"Yeah. That's the one."
"Why's she wearing it? Ironclad only sells to government—no civilian sales yet."
"I'll look into it."
Scarlett pulled up another photo.
Na Gang-in there was gripping an arrow in his right hand, a knocked-out cartel member's collar in his left.
"This back view—Na Gang-in, right?"
"Hmm... hard to tell from behind, but grabbing an arrow barehanded? Probably."
"Wanna meet and find out what's up. Head to Korea?"
Jessica set her tablet on the desk and opened a report.
"No can do. Intel says security risk. Go now, get hit again—government'll be pissed."
Scarlett grumbled,
"Tch. Need to seduce him, but my friend's cockblocking."
"Not my fault the risk exists."
Scarlett eyed the screen again.
"Anyway, Shin Eun-ha has a Dragon Plate. Makes me jealous."
The day before Lee Yeon-ji's surgery, Shin Eun-ha visited Na Gang-in.
"Busy tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Very."
Shin Eun-ha panicked.
"Oh no, this won't do..."
"Why?"
"Outdoor event tomorrow. Wanted you to come with."
"You performing?"
"No, charity art exhibit. I'm just a guest—look around and leave."
She pointed near her eye with a finger.
"Your makeup's like painting techniques. Seemed into art, so thought you'd like it."
"Can't tomorrow. Prior commitment."
"Shoot."
The art exhibit's co-host was actor Kim Yu-chan. He called fellow celebs and actors: swing by if free.
Lee Bo-ra asked,
"Huh? Eun-ha's coming tomorrow?"
- Yeah, to check out our art. Good cause—come if you can. Proceeds donated; buy a painting if you want.
"Hmm."
Lee Bo-ra schemed.
'Would Eun-ha go alone? Nah. She'll drag Oppa Gang-in somehow.'
She decided.
"I'll go."
'Gotta wedge in between them.'
The next day, before entering the OR, Lee Yeon-ji asked,
"Why surgery at Uncle's clinic, not Dad's hospital?"
Lee Jeong-ho lied,
"It's minor, so."
"Hmmm. Weird. This is plastic surgery. Fixing my face? Can't trust Uncle's skills. I like my face now."
Lee Jeong-ho changed the subject quick.
"After surgery, eat or do whatever. Even debut as actress—I'll back you."
"Really?!"
Kim Jung-seok chimed from the side,
"You know Bora's my cousin? I'll ask her for acting academy recs."
"Pfft, I know Noona Bora and Noona Eun-ha too. And Uncle Na Gang-in. At the party, he was tight with Director Son Tae-min and Oppa Yu-chan. My connections win, right?"
"Uh, yeah. You win."
Son Mi-yeon gripped Lee Yeon-ji's hand tight.
"Yeah. Do whatever after discharge. Mom'll support you."
"Why's Mom tearing up? Making me nervous. Am I seriously ill?"
"No. Just emotional cutting into you."
"Oh."