Opening the Gates of Hell
"You crazy bastard! This isn't an operating room! There's no sterile field here! He could die of an infection right now! No, even before that, the moment you cut him open, your medical license is as good as gone! Do you understand me?!" Park Se-yeong screamed, practically begging. Her voice was thick with desperation.
Blah, blah, blah. She never shuts up, the God of the Scalpel muttered to himself.
Inside my own body, I recoiled in horror at his cold monologue. Is that how a human being actually thinks? Oh, right. He's not human. He's a ghost.
The God of the Scalpel lightly gripped the number 10 blade like a pen. He brought the tip of the scalpel to the skin just below the patient's xiphoid process. And then, he sliced.
Sliiiit. There was barely a sound. The blade parted the skin without a shred of resistance. A long, straight incision ran from the pit of the stomach, bypassed the belly button, and extended all the way down to the pubic symphysis without a single moment of hesitation. The skin parted, revealing the subcutaneous fat layer beneath.
"..."
Everyone watching gasped. They had crossed the point of no return.
The God of the Scalpel tossed the blood-stained number 10 blade onto the tray and picked up the Bovie electrocautery. He pushed deeper without hesitation, cauterizing the tiny, spurting blood vessels along the way. Once the tough fascia was exposed, he picked up the scalpel again and made a long incision right down the center of it. Finally, the peritoneum. Through the thin, translucent membrane, the silhouettes of organs writhing in a pool of blood were visible.
The God of the Scalpel carefully nicked the peritoneum with the tip of his blade to make a small opening. Instantly, dark red blood, unable to withstand the pent-up pressure, surged out of the tiny hole. Yet, the God of the Scalpel did not stop. Using Metzenbaum scissors, he rapidly extended the peritoneal incision to both sides. Finally, the gates of hell swung wide open.
The patient's abdominal cavity was already filled with a massive pool of blood. Bright red arterial blood and dark red venous blood were so thoroughly mixed that the organs looked like mysterious islands floating in a crimson sea.
"Ah..." Nam Juhyeon let out a soft groan at the horrific sight.
But the temporary master of my body didn't even blink at the hellscape before him.
The God of the Scalpel grabbed a large suction tip with one hand and plunged it into the pool of blood. With a loud roar, the suction machine began to gulp down the blood. With his other hand, he gestured with his chin toward Nam Juhyeon, who was staring blankly at the scene.
"Hey, assist me."
"Retractor. That one over there. Just hold it and pull it back."
As if possessed, Nam Juhyeon picked up the abdominal retractor he pointed to. Once his field of view was secured, the God of the Scalpel applied pressure to the artery and immediately grabbed sterile gauze pads. One, two, three, four. At an insane speed, he began to expertly stuff the pads into the four quadrants of the patient's abdominal cavity. His hand movements were nothing short of art. He slipped precisely into the narrow gaps between the organs, packing the pads exactly where the bleeding was suspected to be. The entire process took place in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, the bleeding that had filled the abdominal cavity visibly slowed. First, the God of the Scalpel carefully removed the pad from the upper right quadrant, where the liver was located. The blood did not surge back. It wasn't the liver. Next was the upper left quadrant—the site of the spleen. The moment he pulled away the pad blocking that area, a clear stream of arterial blood sprayed out like a fountain with a sharp *whoosh*. Found it.
Frowning, the God of the Scalpel packed the area with the pad again. Then, he slid his left hand deep into the abdominal cavity to palpate around the spleen. I shuddered at the unfamiliar sensation transmitted through my fingertips. The spleen was completely pulverized. The God of the Scalpel quietly withdrew his hand and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. We'll have to take it out."
At those words, Yoo Sung-hoon and Park Se-yeong's faces turned deathly pale. A splenectomy? Here? In the Resuscitation Room? Was this lunatic serious?
Sensing their terrified gazes, the God of the Scalpel turned his head with an annoyed look. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? No matter how crazy I am, I'm not going to perform a splenectomy here."
He continued, applying firm pressure to the bleeding site with the pad again. "I'm just keeping him alive until he gets to the OR. I'll ligate the splenic artery and vein, pack the surrounding area, and stop the bleeding."
Inside my own mind, I couldn't take it anymore. The safety of my medical license was a secondary issue. Right now, I had a much more fundamental, urgent problem.
Use honorifics, you bastard! Honorifics!!! Honorifics!!!
This crazy ghost was casually speaking down to a fellow and a fourth-year chief resident! My hospital life was going to be ruined before I even lost my license!
The Resuscitation Room fell silent. The God of the Scalpel, the temporary master of my body, stared down at the patient's blood-soaked abdominal cavity without moving an inch. The silence was broken by the sound of hurried footsteps outside. The automatic doors slid open, and a group of people in surgical scrubs rushed in. It was the trauma surgery team.
The middle-aged man leading them exuded an overwhelming charisma, his sheer presence dominating the room. It was Professor Kang Hyeon-jun of our hospital's trauma surgery department. Professor Kang froze the moment he saw the scene before him.
"..."
The trauma surgery fellow, general surgery resident, and specialized nurse following behind him also stood with their mouths agape, staring at the hellish scene. In the middle of the Resuscitation Room, thick with the stench of blood, lay a patient with a wide-open abdomen. And standing over him was a first-year resident. Professor Kang's brow twitched.
"...What is the meaning of this?"
Despite the chilling question, the temporary master of my body didn't show the slightest hint of agitation. The God of the Scalpel glanced at Professor Kang and spoke nonchalantly.
"Oh, packing."
Without even taking his eyes off the patient's abdomen, the God of the Scalpel began to rattle off a briefing mechanically. "Fifty-four-year-old male, hypovolemic shock due to a penetrating abdominal wound. Systolic blood pressure dropped to the 50s. After confirming massive intra-abdominal hemorrhage, an emergency laparotomy was performed for damage control. Confirmed a Grade 4 splenic rupture. Currently controlling the bleeding with gauze packing around the splenic artery and vein. Vitals are temporarily stabilized, but we need to get him to the OR immediately to perform a splenectomy."
The briefing was flawless. It was concise, accurate, and even laid out the subsequent treatment plan. But the content didn't matter right now. Professor Kang's face grew increasingly rigid.
"No... I mean..." Professor Kang stammered. "You cut him open? Here? In the ER?" His voice carried a tone of pure, unadulterated confusion, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing.
At that moment, the master of my body raised his head. And from his mouth came a sentence that would completely shatter my entire medical career.
"Instead of asking if I cut him open, shouldn't you be rushing him to the OR right now?!"
Silence. Professor Kang's eyes widened slightly. Park Se-yeong and Yoo Sung-hoon's faces turned pale as sheets.
You crazy piece-of-shit ghost!!!!!!!!!!! My soul screamed. That man is a trauma surgery professor! He's a living legend in this hospital's trauma department, completely incomparable to a mere phantom like you, you socially inept, psychotic ghost!!!!! My medical career! My reputation! My everything! It's all being pulverized right now because of your goddamn mouth!!!!
Professor Kang stared at the God of the Scalpel, who was borrowing my body, in silence for a long moment. He seemed lost in thought before finally shaking his head with a deep sigh. His eyes held a look of resignation, as if saying, I don't care anymore, let's just save the patient first.
"...Let's move him up right now." Professor Kang gestured to his team. "Prepare for transport."
With that command, the frozen time began to flow again. The surgical team and the ER staff moved busily, transferring the patient to a transport gurney and organizing all the monitors and IV lines. Amidst all the chaos, Professor Kang still didn't take his eyes off me. His gaze was filled with a lingering question: Who on earth is this kid?
Finally, the patient was loaded into the elevator heading to the operating rooms. Just before stepping into the elevator, Professor Kang paused and muttered quietly to himself, "I didn't know Emergency Medicine had a professor like that..."
Hearing his murmur, I wept tears of blood and screamed internally. Because I'm not a professor, you motherfucker... I'm just a doomed first-year resident.
The elevator doors closed. The God of the Scalpel departed. I had finally regained control of my body.
...I want to go home. That single thought dominated my brain.
At the station, my seniors were talking seriously about the incident that had just occurred, but nothing registered in my ears. I needed to sit down, even if just for a moment. If I didn't, I felt like I would collapse right then and there. I trudged toward the nearest chair.
It was at that exact moment. The muscle in my right calf began to violently twist.
"Urgh...!"
Was it a cramp? I let out a sharp groan at the sudden spasm. The cramp that started in my calf spread like an infectious disease in an instant. My thighs, back, shoulders, arms, down to the tips of my fingers and toes. Every single muscle in my entire body began to scream, contracting and twisting of its own accord.
Warning lights flashed in my head. I had forgotten. The very last line of the skill description.
[Possession Side Effect]
Severe, debilitating whole-body muscle pain will persist for the next 12 hours.
I had severely underestimated the weight of the word "severe."
"Aaargh..."
I couldn't even squeeze out a proper scream. The strength drained from my legs. With a dull thud, my body collapsed onto the cold floor of the emergency room.
"Whoa, Hyeon-jae!!" Yoo Sung-hoon's panicked voice sounded as if it were coming from far away.
I heard the sound of someone running toward me. But I couldn't see anything. My vision had already gone completely black.
"Ngh..."
I curled into a fetal position on the floor, barely gasping for air through the agonizing pain. And just like that, I blacked out. In the abyss of hellish pain, the thread of my consciousness snapped.