5
## Chapter 5
The terrible headache disappeared as if it had never existed once all the information about thoracic surgery had been entered into his mind.
“You were only discharged recently. Don’t push yourself and get some rest. Should I bring you a wheelchair if walking is difficult?”
Unaware of what had happened, Im Seong-hyeok checked to see if Beom-jun was all right.
“I’m fine. It’s not necessary.”
People were already staring at him because he was the hospital director, so he wanted to avoid any more attention. Still, he was a little touched.
It was unexpected to see Im Seong-hyeok, who was always so curt—or rather, cold—worrying about him. Perhaps it was because their positions had reversed, with Beom-jun now being the patient rather than the director.
More importantly, choosing Im Seong-hyeok as his talent had been an incredible stroke of luck. If he had chosen someone mediocre, he probably would not have gained this level of specialized knowledge.
“So, has Hee-seong set a date for his resignation?”
Beom-jun asked with a much better expression than before.
“No, not yet.”
Perhaps he was still quite upset about Hee-seong's departure, because Seong-hyeok avoided his gaze.
“You can’t force someone to stay if they want to leave. Someone good will come along.”
“Where are we supposed to find someone? You know what the situation in thoracic surgery is like.”
Maybe they had become a little closer. Im Seong-hyeok was actually saying things like this now.
Thoracic surgery was, in fact, an unpopular specialty. Almost all of their patients were critically ill, and those patients seemed to go back and forth across the River Styx several times a day, yet the doctors were not even paid more for it.
Above all, no matter how long a thoracic surgeon worked at a university hospital, they could not open their own practice. To start their own business, doctors usually opened a small neighborhood clinic, but that was impossible for thoracic surgeons.
So while it was possible to somehow recruit residents, there were almost no doctors willing to become fellows. Even when positions were advertised, hardly anyone applied.
‘Hmm. What should I do?’
Beom-jun wiped his lips with his hand. Originally, it would not be until around the middle of the story that a decent fellow would join them. An overseas-trained doctor who came to Hanguk University Hospital after being impressed by Im Seong-hyeok’s skills.
But until then, Seong-hyeok would have to handle the patients alone.
‘If I create an environment where he can focus solely on treatment, he won’t start questioning the hospital system. Then he won’t become interested in the hospital director position either.’
The instability of the thoracic surgery department was the beginning of all the incidents. Conversely, if thoracic surgery remained stable, there would be no reason to replace the director of Hanguk University Hospital.
Beom-jun smiled meaningfully.
“Don’t worry about it. Just stay.”
Now that he had become one of my people, I should put someone decent by his side.
---
“We’re beginning the surgery.”
Inside the green operating room, Im Seong-hyeok spoke while dressed in green surgical scrubs.
Hee-seong had prepared everything for the operation, so everything was already set up. From the anesthesia and surgical site to the cardiopulmonary bypass machine.
When operating on a beating heart, a machine is connected to replace the heart’s function of circulating blood while the heart is stopped. The patient’s body temperature also has to be lowered to between 28 and 32 degrees Celsius to reduce the metabolic rate.
“How’s the CPB, cardiopulmonary bypass? What’s the temperature?”
“Everything’s normal. BT, body temperature, is 32 degrees.”
Hee-seong answered immediately at Seong-hyeok’s question. Seong-hyeok nodded. Considering Yi-seo’s age, setting the temperature at the upper end of the range was appropriate.
It was a shame that someone like him was leaving.
Hee-seong cut through the skin with a scalpel and exposed the ribs. Beneath them, Yi-seo’s tiny heart, no larger than the child herself, was beating rapidly.
“We’ll proceed as quickly as possible. Keep up with me, Hee-seong.”
“Yes, sir.”
Although the machine was beating in place of the heart, the longer the operation continued, the greater the burden on the patient. Seong-hyeok quickly reached toward the heart.
First, the right ventricle. He exposed the outflow tract connecting the pulmonary artery and right ventricle. In order to correct the problem, he first had to expose it properly so he could see exactly what he was dealing with.
“Phew.”
Next, Seong-hyeok located the stenotic section of the pulmonary artery and made an incision.
The fundamental problem with Tetralogy of Fallot was that blood that needed to flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery became obstructed. The purpose of today’s surgery was to remove that obstruction.
Completely focused, Seong-hyeok did not even blink as he stared into the heart. He even held his breath so that his hands would not tremble. The patient’s heart was currently stopped, so something as trivial as holding his breath was nothing.
Because of Yi-seo’s complication, the pulmonary artery had become even narrower, its diameter dangerously thin. It looked as though it might tear from the slightest touch.
“Professor, should we replace the valve as well?”
“No. It’s fine at this level.”
Seong-hyeok answered Hee-seong’s question.
They had prepared for an artificial valve in case the valve had become fibrotic, but fortunately, its condition was not too bad.
Seong-hyeok expanded the right ventricular outflow tract, or RVOT, between the pulmonary artery and right ventricle, opening up a passage. This would allow the blood pumped by the heart to reach the lungs properly. From there, the blood would return to the heart before being circulated throughout the body.
After attaching a patch to prevent the passage from narrowing again, Seong-hyeok finished the operation.
“Haaah.”
As the surgery neared its end, Hee-seong, who had unknowingly been holding his breath along with Seong-hyeok, finally exhaled.
Seong-hyeok looked up at the clock. Five hours had already passed. Somehow, time always disappeared the moment he entered the operating room.
He blinked while looking up at the green ceiling. They said the color green was complementary to blood and helped reduce eye fatigue, but it did not seem particularly effective during such a long operation.
“Finish up, and contact me if there are any problems.”
Seong-hyeok left the rest to Hee-seong and exited the operating room. He was the kind of person who watched over his patients from beginning to end, but Hee-seong was someone he could trust. Because of that trust, Seong-hyeok believed there was no one who could replace him.
‘Still, I can’t stop someone who wants to leave.’
As he washed his hands, Seong-hyeok washed away his emotions along with them.
At least he had been able to operate on Yi-seo before Hee-seong left. Seong-hyeok took off his surgical gown with a refreshed expression, as though a painful tooth had finally been pulled.
---
Beom-jun was going through Hanguk University Hospital’s personnel records, wondering what kind of colleague would be best suited to work alongside Im Seong-hyeok.
He was in the middle of flipping through the documents when he heard a knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
The people who had come to the director’s office were none other than Yi-seo’s parents.
‘Ah, today was the surgery.’
Looking at the time, it was already around the time Yi-seo’s heart surgery should have finished.
“Hello, Director. I’m sorry for coming so suddenly. I hope we’re not bothering you.”
Seeing Yi-seo’s parents, Beom-jun pretended not to know anything.
“Not at all. Come in. How is Yi-seo? The surgery went well, right?”
There was no need to ask. Im Seong-hyeok had undoubtedly succeeded in the operation with ease.
“It went just as you said, Director.”
“We can finally breathe a little easier.”
The two of them clapped their hands, saying how well everything had gone. They even did it in exactly the same way.
“Actually, we were going to refuse the surgery. It’s all thanks to you, Director. Thank you so much.”
In Doctor X, it was a story where they eventually decided to proceed after much hesitation, but Yi-seo’s mother, who had not yet seen how it would end, spoke up.
“Oh, no. Professor Im did the hard work.”
Beom-jun felt awkward for no reason. He had not performed the surgery himself, so hearing them thank him felt strange.
“Yi-seo wouldn’t have been able to have the surgery without you, Director.”
But Yi-seo’s father spoke up as well.
‘So this is how it turned out.’
“You know how Professor Im is. He’s incredibly stubborn. We were seriously considering transferring to another hospital.”
Yi-seo’s mother finally poured out all the worries she had been carrying.
If they went to another hospital...
‘It would probably be Cheonhee University Hospital.’
Pediatrics was fundamentally a loss-making department. That was why, unlike adult medicine, which was divided into more than ten specialties, pediatrics was generally treated as one broad department.
In Doctor X, the only hospitals that operated pediatrics as separate subspecialties, much like adult medicine, were Hanguk University Hospital and Cheonhee University Hospital.
Hanguk University Hospital was a national hospital, so it could receive government funding, but Beom-jun had no idea how Cheonhee University Hospital operated.
Unlike Hanguk University Hospital, which possessed the prestige of being the number-one hospital in the country, Cheonhee University Hospital was portrayed as a hospital with abundant financial resources. In other words, it was a place with a lot of money.
Beom-jun’s thoughts were interrupted by Yi-seo’s mother.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am that the surgery went well. Thank you, Director.”
She stopped speaking and wiped away her tears again, and Beom-jun handed her a tissue.
How could anyone truly understand the feelings of parents with a sick child? When Beom-jun had been a professor, seeing guardians like this had been the hardest part.
Seeing mothers beat their chests, blaming themselves for giving birth to a sick child. That was how genetic diseases were. There was no one to blame, so they simply continued to destroy themselves from within.
“Thank you so much, Director.”
During this short conversation, they had thanked him so many times that Beom-jun felt awkward. It was a strange feeling, something he had never experienced when directly treating patients.
“I suppose all the hardships you went through weren’t in vain.”
And unlike before the surgery, there was now a determination in her eyes. Perhaps it was the resolve to protect the child who had barely managed to survive, no matter what.
“You’ll be discharged sometime this week. You’ve been through a lot. Please get home safely.”
Beom-jun said his goodbyes, but he knew they would come back again someday. It would not be because of a relapse.
In the future, when Seong-hyeok was falsely accused at Hanguk University Hospital, a petition campaign would be organized around the patients to protect him. And the seemingly fragile woman standing before him would gather people and stand up for him.
To her, Seong-hyeok was the doctor who would have to care for her child for the rest of her life.
A mother was never truly weak.
---
Beom-jun casually threw on his gown and left the director’s office.
Since talent information did not appear in the personnel records, he thought it would be easier to meet the doctors face-to-face. Beom-jun wandered through various parts of the hospital.
Unfortunately, not every doctor was highly skilled. Especially doctors who were still in training.
‘I need to find someone to put beside Im Seong-hyeok quickly. That way, I can raise my chances of survival even a little.’
Beom-jun wandered among the doctors as though he were drawing lots.
[You have discovered a talent.]
[You have discovered a talent.]
[Name: Kang Gyeong-seo / Position: Internal Medicine Fellow]
History Taking: ■■■□□
Examination: ■■□□□
Diagnosis: ■■□□□
Treatment: ■□□□□
Follow-up: ■■□□□
Growth Potential: Minimal
Affection: 3
‘Hmm, this guy is a dud. I can’t just eat anything because I’m hungry.’
Just then, someone came walking toward him from the opposite end of the hallway while talking on the phone.
“Yes, this is Choi Woo-jeong, intern.”
She was hurrying along with her phone wedged between her shoulder and ear. In her hand was a portable ultrasound machine. From the looks of it, she was on her way to use it on an inpatient.
[You have discovered a talent.]
[Name: Choi Woo-jeong / Position: Intern]
History Taking: ■■□□□
Examination: ■■■■□
Diagnosis: ■■■□□
Treatment: ■■■□□
Follow-up: ■■□□□
Growth Potential: Sufficient
Affection: 3
[The epitome of diligence and sincerity. She handles her responsibilities conscientiously.]
Beom-jun examined her detailed information. Her stats were not bad. Most were at three or higher, and judging by her growth potential, she could probably reach four across the board without too much difficulty.
“Ah! I’m sorry. I’m on the third floor right now. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
But she was an intern. Even though she was technically a doctor, she was still just starting her career, and it would probably take her at least a year just to adjust to life at the hospital.
Beom-jun continued walking until he reached the end of the hallway, where a door had been left open inward. It was a space near the ward with no name, only a room number.
Places like this were usually doctors’ on-call rooms. Since they had to rush out immediately whenever an emergency occurred, they could not go far even while taking a break.
“Ugh, I’m freaking exhausted. I’m dying. Seriously.”
“You want some coffee?”
“I’ve already had more than ten cups.”
Muttering voices leaked through the doorway. When Beom-jun stuck his head inside, he saw two doctors with hollow, exhausted eyes sitting beside a bunk bed.
[You have discovered a talent.]
This time, the status window appeared for only one of them.
[Name: Lee Min-ho / Position: Third-Year Resident]
History Taking: ■■■□□
Examination: ■■■■□
Diagnosis: ■■■■□
Treatment: ■■□□□
Follow-up: ■■■□□
Growth Potential: Explosive
Affection: 3
[The type who handles things on his own without being told. He has a strong desire to improve and is drawn to superiors more capable than himself.]
Beom-jun’s eyes widened slightly as he read the information.
This was the first time he had seen the words “explosive” under growth potential. His basic stats were already above average as well.
‘This one’s a gem.’