The Changing of the Guard
The last day of February. The Emergency Medicine residents' office was in utter chaos. The fourth-year residents, who had somehow survived the grueling four-year gauntlet, were finally packing up to leave. Old textbooks, knockoff Crocs, and mystery bottles of dietary supplements spilled out of the lockers, releasing a musty odor that had been brewing for four years. I watched the scene quietly from my seat. It was a bittersweet feeling. Just then, Yoo Sung-hoon approached me, carrying a large cardboard box.
"Hey, look at this. You see this?"
What Yoo Sung-hoon proudly unfurled was a freshly delivered doctor's white coat, emblazoned with the vivid blue logo of Ohsung Seoul Hospital.
"This is the Ohsung coat. It literally just arrived yesterday. Doesn't the fit look absolutely killer?"
Yoo Sung-hoon slipped the coat over his shoulders, awkwardly striking a pose to show it off.
"Yes, yes. Too much bragging is poison, Dr. Yoo. It's so dazzling I can barely open my eyes."
"Oh, is that how it is? Look at this guy. Treating me like a stranger just because I'm moving to another hospital? I'm hurt."
I waved my hands dismissively at his playful banter.
"Haha, how could I? I'm genuinely congratulating you. You're going to the best hospital in the country, after all."
"Tsk, anyway..."
Feeling a bit self-conscious, Yoo Sung-hoon took off the coat and folded it back into the box. Returning to his usual nonchalant expression, he gave my shoulder a firm pat.
"You worked hard, you know? If more guys like you had been on shift with me, my life would've been a whole lot easier."
"Ah, please. I'm the one who only has suffering left ahead of me, Dr. Yoo."
"Still, the first year is always the hardest. If you survived that, you'll survive the rest somehow. Come hell or high water."
And with that, our brief farewell was over. Yoo Sung-hoon left the residents' office, carrying his box. Through the window, I watched him pause in front of the Emergency Medical Center sign. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and gently traced the letters spelling out 'Regional Emergency Medical Center.' His face was a complex mix of relief and bittersweet nostalgia.
I was starting to get sentimental watching him go, when a booming voice from behind grabbed me by the metaphorical collar.
"Hyeon-jae!"
It was Lee Min-jae.
"What about me?! Aren't you going to say goodbye to me?!"
...But you're staying here.
"Well... yes... but... we're going to be seeing each other and saying hello all the time anyway, Dr. Lee."
At my perfectly logical response, Lee Min-jae looked as if his entire world had crumbled.
"Hyeon-jae! I thought we—you and I—were brothers-in-arms, sharing our blood, sweat, and burning hearts in this very ER! And yet, you try to brush off our bond with such a cold, businesslike greeting?! I am truly, deeply disappointed in this behavior!"
...I will never understand this man. If he had channeled even half of that theatrical passion into studying for his board exams, he probably would have ranked first in the entire country. Though, from what I heard, he did rank fifth nationwide.
"Anyway, I look forward to working with you! As of today, I am no longer your fourth-year senior! I am Clinical Lecturer Lee Min-jae! Haha!!"
A fellow. He had entered that awkward, liminal space between professor and resident.
"Ah... yes... Congratulations on starting your fellow—sorry, clinical lecturer position..."
I reluctantly shook his hand, offering a forced congratulation.
A short while later, Yoo Sung-hoon and Lee Min-jae shared their final farewells in front of the main entrance.
"Hey, sad to go? If you're that sad, you should've just stayed here too. Come on."
Lee Min-jae teased him with his usual playful grin.
"Cut the crap. I'm heading up to Seoul as fast as I can. You're the one who should bury your bones here."
Yoo Sung-hoon shot back, stepping into a waiting taxi without a single hint of regret.
I watched the whole scene from a slight distance, letting out a quiet chuckle.
Those who leave. Those who stay. And me, watching them, waiting for my own turn. Even in the sterile chaos of the emergency room, there was a faint, warm scent of human life.
Just like that, the winter of my first year passed, and a brand-new March dawned.
The very air in the ER had subtly shifted. Choi Sumin had taken over as the new Chief Resident. And as for Lee Min-jae...
"Hyeon-jae!!! Good morning!!!"
Lee Min-jae kicked open the door to the residents' office, looking absolutely unchanged. Only his title had transitioned.
"The morning of a clinical lecturer has a completely different air density compared to a resident's morning!!! Can you feel it?! The sweet scent of freedom!"
Lee Min-jae cried out, throwing his arms wide. He didn't look a single bit different from his days as the fourth-year Chief.
He was still loud. Still chaotic. Still incredibly extra.
Well, I suppose passing the board exams and becoming a specialist doesn't actually change a person's core essence.
A new March. The hospital was flooded with fresh faces. Clueless, wide-eyed new interns, and brand-new first-year residents who had just shed their intern tags, wearing the exact same shell-shocked expressions I had worn just a year ago.
And there was one most important change of all. My own position had shifted, if only by a fraction.
"Alright, you've probably all heard the basic rundown by now."
Han Jae-eon, now a fourth-year resident, stood with her arms crossed in front of the pale, frozen new first-years.
"Since this batch of residents all did their internships at our hospital, your adjustment period should be a bit smoother. I shouldn't need to teach you basic things like the hospital layout or how to use the EMR, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good." Han Jae-eon nodded in satisfaction. "The person who will primarily be teaching you, nagging you, and guiding you from now on is Dr. Han Hyeon-jae sitting right over there. If you have any questions, make sure to ask Dr. Han first."
"Excuse me?" Sipping my coffee while watching the show, I nearly choked at the sudden nomination.
"Well, he's your immediate senior, and there were plenty of rumors about him last year. Things like him preparing for a double board in Internal Medicine all on his own..."
"Wait, Dr. Han...? That's just a baseless rumor..." I tried to protest, but Han Jae-eon completely ignored me.
"But honestly, he really does have a lot packed in his brain. I don't know how he studies so much on his own. Sometimes his diagnoses are sharper than us senior residents. Anyway, his brain is clearly massive, so if there's anything you don't know, make sure to seek his advice often."
"Haha... you flatter me..." I laughed awkwardly. Baek Eun-seo's eyes sparkled with deep respect. Please, do not look at me with those eyes.
"And you've all heard the legendary rumors about him, right?" A devilish smirk spread across Han Jae-eon's face. "The one where he opened up a patient's abdomen in the ER resuscitation room under the guise of damage control..."
"Ah! Dr. Han! Please, let's leave the past in the past!!" I practically shrieked, cutting her off. Han Jae-eon burst into hearty laughter, clearly finding my desperate reaction highly entertaining.
"Alright, alright. Since Hyeon-jae hates it, I'll stop there. Anyway, you guys are truly blessed. You have a genius as your immediate senior. Feel free to brag about it to your peers in other departments."
Stop calling me a genius, you crazy woman... I wailed internally. I could already foresee how exhausting that single word, "genius," was going to make my residency from here on out.
"Anyway! For any other details, just ask Dr. Han Hyeon-jae here. I'm off!" Dumping all the responsibility onto my shoulders, Han Jae-eon coolly made her exit from the office. "Fourth-years are busy people, you know!"
I let out a heavy sigh. Your daily routine hasn't changed all that much from a year ago... What's so special about being a fourth-year that makes you so busy? Why do you have to act so cool as you ditch us... I swallowed the curses I wanted to throw at her retreating back. But what could I do? She was gone, and the responsibility of guiding these poor, innocent lambs had fallen entirely on me.
I was practically forced into becoming the tour guide for the new ER residents. Your clothes, your hair, your shoes, your socks, they're all gonna get soaked... Ah, wait, wrong kind of tour.
"First, let's head to the station. Your EMR accounts from your internship should have been updated as of today. Have you tried logging in yet?"
"Ah, no. Not yet..."
"Try it right now. Today is your first official day, so your prescription privileges and other access rights should be fully unlocked. We need to verify that first." I pointed to two computers in the corner of the station. Baek Eun-seo and Park Seong-jeong hurriedly logged in using their employee IDs. The familiar EMR interface popped up on the screens.
"Uh... we have thirteen minutes left before your shift officially starts, so let's check the absolute basics before then." Pointing to the monitor at my desk, I gathered the interns—no, the first-year residents—around.
"Look at the screen. It's quiet right now, but patients will start pouring in soon... Oh, look, someone just registered. Once triage is done, you see this here? The patient's name, age, and chief complaint will appear on the left monitor." I pointed to the newly refreshed patient list on the screen.
"But remember, this is just the initial classification done by the triage nurse; it's not finalized in the system yet. That's why, after we examine the patient, we have to manually input the diagnosis and KTAS level into the EMR chart. If we mess this up, the patient's out-of-pocket expenses can skyrocket, and we'll get bombarded with complaints. So you absolutely must check this properly. Got it?" I opened up the charting screen to show them the diagnosis input window.
"See this field for the diagnosis code? The KTAS classification is right at the top. When you enter the primary diagnosis, don't forget to double-check and input this along with it."
"Yes, sir! Understood!"
Having finished the basic handover, the three of us sat side-by-side on the station chairs. Miraculously, no new patients had arrived yet. I was the one to break the awkward silence.
"Oh, right. Seong-jeong." I looked over at Park Seong-jeong, who was sitting next to me. "I have a personal question."
"Yes? Dr. Han?"
"Why did you choose Emergency Medicine? I'm genuinely curious. You know what kind of hell I went through last year."
Park Seong-jeong hesitated for a moment before offering an incredibly honest and pragmatic answer.
"Ah... well... work-life balance."
"Work-life balance?"
"Yes. My seniors told me that in Emergency Medicine, your shifts have clear start and end times, so it's one of the few departments where you can actually have a life after work. They said leaving on time is actually possible..."
I was temporarily left speechless by his answer. Wow, that is incredibly Gen Z. Well, I was technically Gen Z too, but still.
Just then, Baek Eun-seo spoke up with a bright, innocent smile.
"By the way, Dr. Han. The ER is surprisingly quiet. There aren't even any patien—"
In that split second, I mobilized every single reflex in my body to cover Baek Eun-seo's mouth.
"B-Baek Eun—!"
Almost simultaneously with the final syllable escaping her lips—
Ringgggggggg!
Too late. The station phone began to blare. I pressed a hand to my forehead. I should have taught them the absolute number-one taboo of the emergency room first. A nearby nurse quickly picked up the receiver.
"Yes, Cheongjin University Hospital Emergency Room."