Aftermath (4)
Meanwhile, in the Education and Training Department Conference Room that Han Hyeon-jae had just vacated.
Professor Oh Manseok, seated at the center of the table, let out a deep sigh, took off his glasses, and set them down.
"Sigh... What does everyone think?"
The first to speak in response to his question was Choi Jeong-gil, the leader of the hospital's legal team.
"Professor, there is no room for debate here. This is a clear violation of regulations. An unqualified resident, without any supervisor's orders, performed an invasive surgery in an unsterilized environment without the patient's consent. This is absolute madness. We must refer this to the formal disciplinary committee and impose a severe disciplinary action of at least suspension."
At his firm words, Manager Lee Seon-yeong of the Administration Department immediately countered.
"Isn't that assuming the absolute worst-case scenario? The reality is the exact opposite. The patient survived. And highly successfully at that. What do you think will happen if the fact that we disciplined this doctor leaks to the outside? The media will have a field day tearing us apart. 'Hero Doctor Who Saved Patient Disciplined by Hospital'—that is the exact headline we'll see. It is blindingly obvious what will happen to our hospital's prestige."
"Is prestige more important? The hospital's system and regulations are what's important!"
"That system and those regulations could have left the patient to die!"
The temperature in the conference room rose rapidly. Law and reality, regulations and results, clashed head-on.
"No, in the first place, didn't Trauma Surgery say that laparotomy was perfect? I heard Professor Kang Hyeon-jun praised it to high heaven. Then this isn't a mistake, it's talent! He's not someone we should punish, but rather a talent we should protect and nurture!"
At Orthopedic Surgery Professor An Jae-seon's defense, Legal Team Leader Choi scoffed.
"Talent? A talented madman is far more dangerous than a regular madman. He saved a patient today, but who knows what kind of accident he'll cause tomorrow with that talent?"
"But in the end, he saved a life!"
Just as the voices grew louder and the meeting was about to devolve into utter chaos.
A man who had been sitting silently in the corner with his arms crossed, listening to the entire debate, spoke up in a low voice.
It was Yoon Taeryong, the Hospital Vice President and a former General Surgery professor.
"Wait, but."
He opened his mouth, drawing everyone's attention.
"I heard his packing was a work of art, though?"
He looked at the legal team leader and continued.
"Regulations are important. The system is important, of course. But what is the essence of our profession? It's saving patients. I don't know what that first-year was thinking when he picked up the scalpel. Maybe he was crazy, or maybe he really displayed superhuman strength. But one thing is for sure. Thanks to that crazy stunt, the patient is alive and lying in the ICU. While we're here having academic debates, that kid went out there and delivered results."
The moment the Vice President finished speaking, the atmosphere in the conference room shifted completely. The legal team leader's momentum was instantly crushed, and the faces of the other committee members filled with deep contemplation.
How should we punish a hero who broke the rules?
The debate dragged on for a long time. The opinion that punishment for exceeding authority was inevitable clashed fiercely with the view that there were major mitigating circumstances.
And finally, they reached a single conclusion.
They would hand down a very, very minor disciplinary action.
They would hold him accountable for breaking the rules, but only to a degree that would not leave a permanent stain on his medical career. It was a delicate tightrope walk—protecting the hospital's system while refusing to crush a mad talent who might one day become a legendary physician.
How long had I been sitting on the cold corridor floor, staring blankly into space?
My mind had become a junkyard filled with every worst-case scenario imaginable. A three-month suspension? A six-month pay cut? Or worse, a one-year extension of my residency? Just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.
Right then.
Click.
The heavy door of the conference room swung open.
Startled, I practically bounced off the floor by reflex and bowed my waist at a ninety-degree angle.
Huh?
A pair of heavy, expensive-looking leather shoes entered my field of vision. Keeping my head down, I rolled my eyes upward to check the owner.
Hospital Vice President Yoon Taeryong.
Holy shit, what?
He definitely wasn't in that room when I first walked in. Did he slip in halfway through? No, more importantly, why on earth was the Vice President of the entire hospital attending a meeting to discuss the training of a lowly first-year resident? Was the scale of my doom far greater than I had ever imagined?
My mind went completely blank.
Then, someone lightly tapped my shoulder.
"?"
Startled, I looked up to find the Vice President standing right in front of me, looking down with a smile that was either incredibly benevolent or incredibly sly.
"Haha, so you're the fellow from Emergency Medicine."
I felt my heart stop. Barely managing to control my trembling body, I bowed deeply once more.
"Yes, sir. I am Han Hyeon-jae, a first-year resident in Emergency Medicine."
"Right, right. I wanted to get a look at your face. You've worked hard."
He patted my shoulder a few more times and let out a hearty chuckle, looking like a friendly neighborhood uncle.
"Hear the results from the chairman. Don't worry too much."
With those final words, the Vice President walked away.
...What? A first-year resident sliced open a patient's abdomen in the ER, and the Vice President tells him he worked hard? And not to worry?
Man, I really couldn't wrap my head around this place.
As I stood there scratching my head in utter confusion, a voice called out to me.
"Dr. Han Hyeon-jae!"
It was Professor Oh Manseok, calling from the doorway of the conference room. The moment of truth had arrived. Swallowing hard, I dragged my feet back into the room where my fate would be decided.
Once again, I stood before the chair in the center of the room. Professor Oh Manseok reviewed the documents one last time before looking up at me.
"Dr. Han Hyeon-jae. The committee's discussion is over."
My heart felt like it was about to stop. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"I will state the conclusion first. Regarding this matter, the training committee..."
Please. Please. Let it just be a pay cut. Please, anything but an extension of my residency.
"...sentences the resident under review, Han Hyeon-jae, to a reprimand and a one-month salary deduction."
...
"This matter will be concluded by the committee's own decision and will not be referred to the formal disciplinary committee."
...Pardon?
I doubted my own ears. My brain failed to process the situation and began to buffer.
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Professor Oh pinched the bridge of his nose and repeated himself.
"A written reprimand and a one-month pay cut. That's it."
In that instant, a massive firework exploded inside my head.
Fucking yes! I did it! I actually did it! I'm alive! My medical career! Extended! I'm the legend who sliced open an abdomen as a first-year and lived to tell the tale! Who cares about a pay cut! I'll just eat instant ramen next month! My license! My career! I survived, you bastards!
While my inner self was roaring in absolute triumph, the real-world me suppressed every ounce of ecstasy and replied in an incredibly calm, polite, and robotic voice.
"Yes, I understand. I humbly accept the committee's decision."
At my robotic response, Professor Oh let out a dry chuckle and stood up from his seat. The other committee members began packing up their things as well.
"I don't need to explain the reasons in detail, do I? It was definitely a crazy and dangerous act... but in the end, the fact that Dr. Han saved the patient played the biggest role. We can't fire a doctor who saved someone who was going to die."
Professor Oh paused for a moment before adding,
"Of course, the opinions of Professor Kang Hyeon-jun of Trauma Surgery and Vice President Yoon Taeryong also played a huge part. When those giants go out of their way to praise you, what can we do? Dr. Han, you must have learned a lot from this. Good work."
With those words, Professor Oh and the rest of the committee members filed out of the room one by one.
"It's over..."
I let out a hollow laugh and walked out of the conference room. As I stood in front of the elevator, my phone buzzed with a text message.
I walked across the hospital lobby and stepped through the sliding glass doors. A gust of cool air hit my face.
Only then did it finally sink in that I was alive.
Time to go home. I wanted to take a hot shower, crack open a can of beer, and fall asleep without a single thought in my head.
As I trudged toward the bus stop, a black sedan silently glided up next to me and came to a halt.
The passenger window rolled down smoothly.
"Hey! Get in!"
The face peering through the window belonged to our department chief, Park Ung.
"Oh, Chief! I'm fine! I can just take the bus..."
"Cut the crap and just get in, you rascal! I have something to say to you."
Having no choice, I bowed politely and opened the passenger door. The moment I sank into the plush leather seat, the exhaustion that had accumulated throughout the day washed over me all at once.
After a long silence, Chief Park finally spoke.
"Why did you do it?"
"Pardon?" I asked like an idiot.
"I asked why you did it."
"Well... I... had no other thought than that I had to save the patient."
At my answer, the chief let out a short chuckle. He turned his gaze back to the road and muttered softly.
"Yeah. That's EM for you, I suppose."
But his acknowledgment ended there. The traffic light changed, and the car smoothly accelerated forward.
"But," his voice grew heavy again, "the system doesn't exist for no reason. Your seniors are people who have been through all kinds of battles in this ER. The regulations and procedures we've built are made of the blood of countless patients and the tears of doctors. If you go rogue trying to be a hero on your own, you don't just kill yourself—you put the entire team in danger. You were lucky this time, but there's no guarantee you'll be lucky next time. You didn't do well."
I hung my head.
"Yes, Chief. I will keep that in mind."
Damn it, because it wasn't me... it was the crazy ghost inside me who did it...
My inner scream never made it past my lips.
After another long silence, just as the car was approaching my officetel, Chief Park brought up an entirely different topic.
"Oh, by the way, isn't it about time you got your KTAT provider certification?"
"Pardon? Oh, yes. I need to prepare for it soon."
"Right. Since you're going to get it anyway, why don't you go on a dispatch training rotation to the Trauma Center to prepare properly?"
My heart dropped at the suggestion. The Trauma Center? He wanted me to go to that absolute front line?
"What? No, no! I'm fine! I still have so much to learn... I like the ER here better!"
I frantically waved my hands in refusal, practically screaming.
Seeing my desperate reaction, the chief glanced at me in surprise before bursting into a hearty, boisterous laugh.
"Hahaha! Right. So our genius first-year doctor still finds the dynamic general ER more fun? I suppose the Trauma Center is boring since you only see blood all day."
I could only offer an awkward laugh in response.
"Haha... Genius? No way..."
The car pulled up to the entrance of my officetel.
"Go on in. See you tomorrow."
"Yes, Chief. Thank you for the ride. Have a safe drive home."
I bowed politely and got out of the car. The black sedan smoothly vanished into the night.
I let out a deep sigh and looked up at the sky. A cool breeze brushed against my cheek. Before I knew it, the autumn wind had grown quite chilly.