4
Chapter 4
Seonghyeok began his evening rounds late that night. Two emergency surgeries had come up that day, and it was already
past ten in the evening.
‘That doesn't mean I can leave without seeing my patients.’
It was his personal rule to meet his patients in person at least once a day. Seonghyeok entered the ward with long
strides. Minho, the resident who had been dozing off inside, immediately sprang to his feet.
“Uh, Professor, you're here.”
His hair was completely disheveled, and there was even a trace of drool around his mouth.
“A resident on duty is sleeping? Don't you feel sorry for the patient?”
Seonghyeok scolded Minho sternly. This was something he simply could not tolerate.
“Ah, well, I was on duty yesterday, but…”
Minho had been coming in even on his days off to work, so he felt unfairly accused, but he couldn't explain everything.
Seonghyeok was like an iron man, overcoming any working conditions through sheer willpower. Stories about him had become
legends among his juniors.
‘Wow, he finished that surgery in thirty minutes?’
‘Professor Im developed the first treatment method for that disease.’
‘Did you hear this too? Apparently, he worked through the night for an entire week.’
Steady hands were essential for a doctor, but that wasn't all Seonghyeok had. He also possessed more than enough fuel to
keep an enormous engine running.
Driven by his devotion to medicine and his sense of duty toward his patients, he was always several steps ahead of other
doctors.
“If you're going to work like that, stay away from my patients.”
At Seonghyeok's thunderous reprimand, the resident apologized repeatedly.
To Minho, Seonghyeok was someone he could hardly dare approach. The level Seonghyeok had reached through endless effort
was absurdly high compared to that of an ordinary person. Watching him made Minho feel almost ashamed of himself,
wondering whether he was really a doctor at all.
“I'm sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment.”
Now completely awake, Minho spoke with his eyes wide open. Only then did Seonghyeok seem satisfied and pat him on the
shoulder.
“Get your head straight. Dozens of lives are in your hands.”
Minho swallowed hard, his Adam's apple moving up and down. Seonghyeok took Minho around with him, asking about each
patient's treatment and teaching him along the way.
‘That's…’
As they passed the intensive care unit, a familiar face caught his eye. The PICU, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, located
separately beside the medical ICU, was where Iseo was staying.
“Oh, hello, Professor.”
Iseo's mother greeted Seonghyeok first.
“Hello, ma'am. I suppose you're on your way out after visiting Iseo.”
“Yes, well. That's right.”
She answered with an awkward smile.
Their relationship had definitely become strained after their last meeting. Iseo's worried mother had asked whether the
surgery could be postponed, while Seonghyeok had rejected the idea outright.
But they couldn't simply forgo the surgery. There was no other option, and the longer they delayed, the worse it would
be for Iseo.
Seonghyeok had no regrets about what he had done. Even if he could go back several times, he would have made the same
decision.
“Doctor, how is our Iseo? There's not much time left before the surgery, and my wife is really worried about whether
she'll be okay.”
Iseo's father stepped in after noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere. It was a question he had asked repeatedly, but
Seonghyeok explained everything from the beginning again. If it could ease their anxiety, he was willing to do it as
many times as necessary.
“Of course, there are risks involved, but at this point, surgery is the best option. If we try to hold out with
medication, there's a high possibility we'll miss the right timing.”
The father nodded and listened carefully, while the mother, who had been slightly pouting, only spoke after he finished
explaining. As if she had already known the answer.
“Actually, the director told us the same thing earlier.”
“You met the director?”
In any case, the director was Seonghyeok's superior. Hearing the hospital director mentioned by the guardian of his
patient, he was rather surprised.
“Yes. He called and asked to see us. We told him it was fine since we come to visit Iseo every day anyway.”
“How did you happen to meet the director?”
Seonghyeok asked her. He wasn't usually one to talk at length, but he was more curious than anything else. How had they
met? And when?
He had recently had a confrontation with the director in his office, so he couldn't help but be concerned.
‘What's the problem? I'm just trying to treat a patient.’
Seonghyeok had been under considerable stress lately because his views differed from those of the hospital
administration. He was painfully aware that simply wanting to save a patient wasn't enough.
He also knew just how powerless a doctor could be within a hospital when acting alone. But that didn't mean he could
give up. A patient had no one else to rely on but their attending physician.
From the moment the hospital director was mentioned, he had become strangely tense, and he waited for the Iseo couple to
continue.
“Ah, I think it was the day before yesterday. He called us. He didn't say anything particularly special.”
Sensing Seonghyeok's hesitation, Iseo's father quickly added,
“The director also said that we couldn't afford to miss the right timing.”
“What?”
Seonghyeok asked in surprise. Then Iseo's mother slowly spoke.
“Um, honestly, we were really worried. Thank you, Professor. For trying to save our Iseo. We understood after hearing
what the director said. If it weren't for you, Professor, no one would have performed Iseo's surgery.”
She spoke with tears in her eyes, unable to look directly at Seonghyeok, her gaze lowered.
“I'm sorry for misunderstanding you. Thank you so much.”
So she hadn't actually been uncomfortable with him. Her nose had turned red as she sniffled, and her husband took care
of her.
Seeing this, Seonghyeok realized his mistake.
Because the patient was a child who couldn't make medical decisions on their own, he had forgotten that establishing
rapport with the patient also meant establishing rapport with the parents.
If he pushed ahead with surgery in the name of the patient, but ended up hurting the parents emotionally, then who was
he really doing this treatment for?
‘I overlooked this.’
He had skipped the process of persuading and respecting them. His ears turned red with embarrassment.
Outwardly, however, he looked at the couple and spoke calmly.
“Not yet. Save the thanks until after the surgery.”
He gave a brief bow and strode toward the end of the corridor. The director's words seemed to echo in his ears.
‘You're going to take on such a difficult surgery? That's just like Professor Im.’
Had he really meant it sincerely? Not only had he taken the time to speak with the guardians, he had even taken their
side.
‘I was the one who misunderstood. Not Iseo's mother.’
Seonghyeok remembered how he had gone to the director's office, shouted at him, and slammed the door on his way out. He
had twisted the meaning of Beomjun's words and gotten angry at him.
Yet instead of reprimanding him, the hospital director had taken care of the part Seonghyeok himself had overlooked.
Seonghyeok's head lowered on its own.
[Im Seonghyeok's favorability has increased by 1.]
[Im Seonghyeok's favorability has increased by 1.]
[Professor Im Seonghyeok's favorability has reached 7.]
In the director's office, Beomjun suddenly saw a status window appear.
‘What? All of a sudden?’
Beomjun clicked the details beside the status window to check where Im Seonghyeok was.
[Searching for the talent's location.]
[Im Seonghyeok's location confirmed: In front of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.]
Judging by the location, Beomjun could guess what had happened. He must have run into Iseo's parents.
Not long afterward, Iseo's surgical consent form was uploaded to the HIS.
The person who had signed it was the primary guardian, Iseo's mother. It seemed the conversation had gone well.
His favorability had gone up by two points at once. What a stroke of luck.
Could he register him as a talent now?
[The minimum favorability required to register a talent is 7.]
As if it had read Beomjun's thoughts, an alert window appeared. It was a little unsettling, but at least he had learned
the information he needed.
Now all that remained was registration. As soon as Beomjun wondered where Seonghyeok might be, the status window
appeared again.
[Searching for the talent's location.]
[Im Seonghyeok's location confirmed: Professor's Office 417.]
After his rounds, Im Seonghyeok had gone straight to his office. As expected, he was diligent.
Beomjun passed through the crowded lobby and took an elevator tucked away in the corner.
When he got off the elevator and walked down the corridor, signs marked 414, 415, and so on passed by one after another.
Then someone emerged from a room. The name on his white coat read Kim Heeseong, Cardiothoracic Surgery.
‘Hmm, he's the fellow Im Seonghyeok takes around with him.’
Beomjun thought to himself. After completing residency, the next stage was fellowship, which was somewhat like pursuing
a doctorate in graduate school.
Heeseong played an important role in <Doctor X>, but he would leave around this point. Officially, the reason was that
his fellowship period had ended, but in reality, he simply couldn't endure working under Im Seonghyeok any longer.
The workload remained the same, but now there was one less person, making the professor's life even more difficult.
‘That's when Im Seonghyeok starts taking an interest in the hospital system.’
Seonghyeok, who had previously cared about nothing but patients, began questioning the hospital once his workload
became overwhelming. He started looking into the unreasonable and unfair systems operating at Korea National
University Hospital.
The reason he eventually decided to overhaul everything and accepted the position of hospital director was because
moments like this existed.
“What brings you here, Director?”
When Beomjun arrived at the professor's office, Im Seonghyeok spoke to him with an uncomfortable expression.
It was something Beomjun had been hearing quite often lately.
‘What, am I supposed to sit in the director's office without moving all day?’
“I happened to be passing by. You've been working hard lately, Professor Im. Haha.”
It wasn't exactly on the way, since the professor's office was located far from the hospital's main facilities, but
Beomjun came up with a suitable excuse.
‘He'll get the hint and act accordingly.’
“Yeah.”
But Im Seonghyeok only frowned and answered curtly. His reaction was far too cold to suggest that his favorability had
increased.
He was making things awkward.
Was it because of the fellow who had just left? Beomjun cautiously brought him up.
“I saw Heeseong leaving. Come to think of it, you're graduating from the department soon.”
“…He's responsible for his own life.”
Im Seonghyeok answered while suppressing his irritation. The atmosphere was terrible.
“You don't have to come all the way here every time something like this happens.”
Beomjun sighed inwardly.
He was lucky that he had been an avid reader of <Doctor X>. Otherwise, hearing the way this guy talked would have made
him dislike him.
“Yeah, okay. You must be busy, so get back to work.”
Instead, Beomjun used the opportunity to open the status window.
Right. This was why he had come here.
He could just take care of his business and leave.
[Would you like to register Im Seonghyeok as a talent? Yes/No]
Yes. Absolutely yes.
Beomjun moved his eyes and clicked.
To have Im Seonghyeok as his first talent made Beomjun a little excited.
[Im Seonghyeok has been registered as a talent.]
But the moment the message appeared confirming that Professor Im Seonghyeok had been registered, Beomjun suddenly
felt an excruciating pain in both sides of his head.
It was far too severe to be an ordinary migraine.
[Due to the registration effect, the talent's knowledge will be absorbed.]
“Ugh.”
Beomjun grabbed the wall, unable to keep himself upright.
The intense pain felt as though both sides of his head were being squeezed. For a moment, his vision became so
blurred that he could barely see.
Then, as Beomjun sank to the floor, medical knowledge related to cardiothoracic surgery was engraved into his mind
piece by piece.
The structure of the heart and the locations of its blood vessels, detailed enough that he felt as though he could
draw them immediately.
The ribs surrounding the heart.
Various diseases related to the heart, as well as the conditions of the patients currently admitted to the hospital.
‘This is impossible.’
This was probably the expertise Im Seonghyeok had accumulated over more than a decade.
It was knowledge of a depth that could never be acquired simply by studying for a short while.
Beomjun leaned against the wall, his face pale as though he had seen a ghost.
“Director, are you all right?”
The man who had merely glanced over from his seat was already rushing toward Beomjun and supporting him.
“Ah, I just felt a little dizzy. I'm fine.”
A new status window had already appeared before his eyes.
[Main Quest completed.]
[Choi Beomjun's survival probability has increased by 3%.]
[Current survival probability: 3%.]
After acquiring Im Seonghyeok as a talent, Beomjun finally began to understand what the survival probability meant.
For Choi Beomjun, the hospital director who was originally destined to die, there was now a path to survival.