Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Supporting Role
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Surgical Department Chief Lee Jeong-ho had some idea why Na Gang-in had been so busy lately.
"I heard that our Yeon-ji made it out safely from the jewelry exhibition hall thanks to you, Mr. Na. Thank you."
Na Gang-in tilted his head slightly.
"Hmm... Anyone else, maybe, but Yeon-ji would've been fine even without my help."
"Pardon? What do you mean...?"
Na Gang-in recalled the events of that day. Lee Yeon-ji's condition had been markedly different from everyone else's.
"The XVE gas didn't affect her properly. She wasn't completely immune, but while everyone else collapsed, Yeon-ji was the only one still standing. The effect was that weak on her."
Lee Jeong-ho's expression grew serious.
"My daughter went through something like that and didn't even tell me."
"She probably didn't want to worry you. But here's the thing—the reason only Yeon-ji was okay..."
Na Gang-in asked cautiously.
"Could it have something to do with K-Tiger Syndrome, by any chance?"
Lee Jeong-ho thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't know. She did recover at an astonishing speed after the surgery, but..."
Among the cases Lee Jeong-ho knew, this was the first successful surgery for severe K-Tiger Syndrome.
"Whether it's due to K-Tiger Syndrome or just her constitution..."
Yulmyeong Bio President Kwon Dong-jin chimed in.
"From what I heard, the XVE gas wears off slower in people with strong recovery abilities. If getting sick and recovering improved her resilience, that's a good thing, right? After all that hardship, at least she gained something from it."
Lee Jeong-ho looked a bit regretful.
"It could be good for our Yeon-ji. But... if her strong recovery ability from the start is what made the surgery succeed..."
Kwon Dong-jin realized what he meant and paled. Lee Yeon-ji had been active even before surgery, but Kwon Soo-yeon could barely walk.
If surgical success depended on the patient's current recovery ability, Kwon Soo-yeon's operation might fail.
Kwon Dong-jin said gravely.
"It can't be. It has to not be."
They had gathered here today to practice coordinating before operating on Kwon Soo-yeon.
Before Yeon-ji's surgery, they'd practiced several times using a model organ mimicking the anomalous organ.
Pharmaceutical company president Kwon Dong-jin had pulled strings, paying extra to rush an order to a medical model maker. Thanks to that, they had twenty practice samples perfectly replicating Kwon Soo-yeon's anomalous organ.
Na Gang-in stepped up to the first practice model to lighten the mood.
"Let's start by getting our hands synced up."
Lee Jeong-ho quickly took position opposite him.
"Surgery time is max one hour, but since we're only practicing the organ repair part, let's aim for under forty minutes."
Everyone took their assigned positions.
Yulmyeong Bio President Kwon Dong-jin wasn't a doctor or nurse, yet he insisted on entering the OR to help with minor tasks.
That meant he'd share legal responsibility if issues arose. In return, it gave the others confidence they were all in this together.
The first practice run exceeded forty minutes, with plenty of mistakes along the way.
Kwon Dong-jin checked his watch and turned ashen.
"Th-this won't do, will it?"
Lee Jeong-ho shook his head.
"We can't expect perfection on the first try. That's why we're practicing—to cut down the time. We need to identify the problems and find ways to shave off seconds."
"Still, it makes me anxious..."
Na Gang-in tried to lift the mood with a change of topic.
"Chief Lee, why'd you name this disease K-Tiger Syndrome?"
"Huh? K for Korea? Ah... no, K isn't short for Korea."
"Oh? Usually when there's a K in front..."
"As you know, I didn't discover this alone. Two doctors in the US and I researched it together. You think I'd just slap a Korea K on a disease we named jointly?"
"Then what does K stand for?"
"It was originally 'chi,' not K."
"Chi?"
"The first letters of Chimera, the monster from ancient myths."
Na Gang-in was startled.
"Whoa!"
Lee Jeong-ho quickly explained.
"This disease is characterized by abnormal organ manifestations in the body. In severe cases, things like ears or mouths can appear inside. That's why we named it that at first—the bizarre form."
"I see..."
"Diseases with similar symptoms existed before, of course. Those could be fixed with surgery. What makes K-Tiger Syndrome different—and hard to operate on—is the time limit."
Severe K-Tiger Syndrome required completing the surgery and suturing within one hour. Everyone who'd exceeded that had died.
Breaking it into multiple sessions was impossible. Once started, all anomalous organs had to be removed. Leaving even one meant the patient died.
"This isn't like any disease we knew before. It's like some curse—a unique affliction."
Lee Jeong-ho sighed.
"Naming a disease after a mythical monster would terrify patients. So we started with Chimera, then shortened to chi, and to avoid notice, changed it to the similar-sounding K."
"Ah... Then what's Tiger for?"
"K Syndrome was too short, so we added something. The Chimera in Homer's Iliad from ancient Greece has a lion's front half. Closest fierce beast like a lion is a tiger."
"So Tiger was just tacked on."
"Exactly. Ha, haha."
They practiced four times that day.
Time decreased slightly up to the third. But the fourth took longer. Pushing further would just tire everyone out with no gains.
They agreed to meet again later and parted ways.
On his way home, Na Gang-in asked AI Jeon Ji-in.
"Ji-in, do you know anything about K-Tiger Syndrome?"
- I have skills to diagnose injured states, but none for diagnosing or treating diseases.
"You only have initial data left; all activity data's gone. Maybe you knew before but forgot?"
- It might be a disease the agent knew.
"Yeah, probably. I don't remember anything now either, just like you."
He got home, collapsed into a chair. His phone rang right away. It was Lee Yeon-ji.
"Yeah. What's up?"
- Uncle! I'm going to film a drama tomorrow!
Na Gang-in chuckled. The jewelry hall incident was just two days ago, yet her voice brimmed with energy.
"You really have endless energy."
- Hehe. You'll come watch, right?
"Of course. Gotta see you realize how grueling a set is and how tough acting really gets. You'll swear off it after tomorrow and focus on studying."
- What kind of curse is that?
"Just telling it like it is. See you tomorrow."
Na Gang-in overslept the next day. After getting up, he sat blankly on the bed.
"Why am I so tired?"
- Physical fatigue has been fully recovered.
"Maybe from inhaling all that poison gas a few days ago?"
- No.
"Then I guess my head's tired. Was gonna sleep more."
- You've recently used your brain enough to fatigue it.
"Not saying my brain's bad or anything, right?"
- Here's today's schedule.
"Ji-in, why'd you dodge the question? Wait, no? Whoa, I'm wide awake now."
His schedule appeared before him. Most were routine info gathering, but one was in a different color.
- You have an appointment to visit Lee Yeon-ji's filming location.
"Gotta see her face the harsh reality of a set."
- Filming has likely already started.
Na Gang-in bolted out of bed.
"Ji-in! Ultra-express shower!"
- Do you seriously want emergency decontamination?
"Nah, kidding. I'll wash myself. Emergency decon sounds off just hearing the name."
Na Gang-in hurried to prepare and headed to the filming location.
It was in central Seoul.
Filming was already in full swing. But staff at the entrance blocked outsiders.
"Uh. This is a problem..."
- Shin Eun-ha detected. Shin Eun-ha proves helpful at times.
Na Gang-in quickly waved at Shin Eun-ha.
She spotted him, came over, and led him inside.
Shin Eun-ha asked.
"You could've just walked in. Why call me?"
"That guy said no outsiders allowed."
"Outsiders? Oppa, you're in the industry. Digital single, billion-view movie, hit drama, CFs everywhere, parties... Wait, no."
She realized why he'd been treated as an outsider.
"No one on this staff recognizes you, huh? Should've taken up Director Son or PD Choi when they begged you for movies or dramas."
"I did."
"Not counting the masked, sunglassed full-cover look, or the green bodysuit..."
Na Gang-in raised a hand.
"Stop there."
"Yeah. Stopping."
Shin Eun-ha pointed ahead. Next scene was prepping—and Lee Yeon-ji was among them.
"Perfect timing. Yeon-ji's scene is up soon."
"How long has she been here?"
"Two hours."
"Not freezing her out? If she's getting bullied, cover for her a bit."
Shin Eun-ha looked baffled.
"Freezing? Bullying? I'm floored."
"Why?"
"I knew she was likable, but damn. She's the friend trio opposite the lead, right? In thirty minutes, she made friends 1 and 2 call her noona and dongsaeng. Not just actors—staff know her name too."
"Classic Yeon-ji."
"She even got lines."
"Huh? Suddenly?"
"Script changed last night. Writer felt bad leaving the three friends silent, so tossed in a line or two each."
"Lucky."
Shin Eun-ha smirked.
"Is it luck? Kid's never acted, straight to real camera with lines? She'll bomb, eat shit online, lines get cut—reality check time."
"Right. Then she'll hit the books."
Shin Eun-ha had slotted her here to force focus on her real strength: studies.
Na Gang-in said.
"Still, Yeon-ji's visuals hold up against the others."
"She's always been a looker."
Filming started.
Lead actress went first. Then friends 1, 2, 3 stepped up, pressuring her with a line each.
After, the lead's rival actress Gong Ji-hyeon advanced.
Problem: Gong Ji-hyeon flubbed, halting filming. She bowed to everyone.
"Sorry!"
While resetting, Na Gang-in asked.
"Uh... Eun-ha. Yeon-ji really can't act, right?"
Shin Eun-ha seemed flustered.
"She's... pretty good?"
Friends 1 and 2 had basic skills—fine for one-liners.
But Yeon-ji blended seamlessly, naturally. Her acting was so effortless and cheeky, the trio felt like real friends.
Na Gang-in said.
"Not just studies—she's good at acting too?"
Shin Eun-ha grumbled.
"Why's everyone around me multi-talented?"
"Who else?"
"Who do you think!"
"This is a problem, though. We wanted her to learn how brutal sets are."
"What can we do? She handled it herself. Can't sabotage now. We're just spectators."
Do Joo-hee, writer of recently ended hit drama Blue Sky, showed up. Friends with this drama's writer, and the set was near her workspace, so she'd dropped by.
Spotting Na Gang-in watching, she grinned and approached.
"Oh! Mr. Na!"
AI Jeon Ji-in explained.
- Do Joo-hee, writer of drama Blue Sky.
"Ah, Writer Do."
"Are you joining this drama? Wait, weren't you helping me and PD Choi with our next one?"
"Haven't committed yet."
Do Joo-hee looked anxious.
"We assumed you were in and prepped our next work... Why this one but not ours?"
"Friend's doing a bit part here. Just watching."
"Phew, good. Bit part? Who?"
Na Gang-in pointed at Yeon-ji.
"Her."
"Oh, saw her. Acting's rough around edges, but that raw charm works. How long has she trained?"
"First time today, she says."
"No way! Impressive."
"Talent monster, huh?"
Shin Eun-ha and Do Joo-hee stared at him.
The sudden vibe shift awkward, Na Gang-in asked Shin Eun-ha.
"What? Did I mess up?"
"Anyone else, fine—but you can't say 'talent monster'."
"Was a compliment, not an insult. Sounded bad?"
"Not that! Ugh, whatever!"