The Fallen Giant (2)
Oh Il-mu entered the hospital director's office and bowed his head in greeting. “Excuse me. I was told that the hospital director handles all matters regarding Chairman Kwon Byung-do, so I came here. It seems the third young master is here as well.”
After a brief nod to me and Secretary Han Seung-woo, the hospital director asked, “Yes, you've come to the right place. I'm Maeng Woo-yoon, director of Myeongryun University Hospital. Are you a family member of Chairman Kwon Byung-do?”
“No. I'm the attorney who notarized the chairman's will. My name is Oh Il-mu.”
A will? Did he rush all the way here from Gangwon-do because of that? Judging by his clothes, he must have followed right after I left. Even though Chairman Kwon Byung-do is currently unconscious, I wondered why the will needed to be handled so urgently. If the procedure goes well, he could recover quickly after waking up, right? Passing out briefly isn't something that only happens to Chairman Kwon Byung-do because of his age—anyone can experience it at least once in their life.
The hospital director seemed to share my curiosity and stared at Oh Il-mu. Oh Il-mu's words apparently sounded as if he didn't trust the hospital. After hesitating for a long while, glancing between me and Oh Il-mu as if unsure how to broach the many things he wanted to say, he finally spoke.
“Mr. Oh Il-mu, was it? I understand you're preparing thoroughly for any eventuality, but the possibility of the chairman passing away is extremely low. We'll do our best at this hospital.”
“Ah, Director Maeng, that's not what I meant...”
The hospital director cut in as if he had more to say. “If such an unfortunate incident occurs, I will resign from my position as hospital director.”
This was something even I, an outsider to the conversation, could tell the director was jumping to conclusions about. Oh Il-mu glanced at me, noticed the director had finished, and continued what he had been about to say.
“This isn't the Joseon era. There's no need to give up a hard-earned position just because a patient's prognosis is poor. However, as Chairman Kwon Byung-do's attorney, if it seems he'll take a long time to wake up, there are things I need to do.”
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
As the director nodded, sweating despite the weather, Oh Il-mu revealed why he had rushed from Gangwon-do to Seoul in one go.
“Among Chairman Kwon Byung-do's wills, there's one that must be disclosed if he's unconscious for more than a week or unable to make normal decisions for the same period. That's why I need to know his current condition and the expected recovery timeline and possibilities.”
Aha. So Chairman Kwon Byung-do had multiple wills? It made sense given the public's view of him as someone who harbored at least nine snakes inside, and the situation where his own father's will had caused trouble. It also explained why Oh Il-mu had no choice but to rush here from Gangwon-do.
“I see. I understand.”
The embarrassed Director Maeng, who had nearly gotten himself fired from his position for no reason, repeated the same explanation for the third time. He explained how when a large blood vessel branches into smaller ones in our body, it forms a Y-shape, and if the central part of that Y swells due to blood pressure, it can rupture. In Chairman Kwon Byung-do's case, unfortunately, this happened in the brain, causing him to lose consciousness now.
Fortunately, Oh Il-mu, being of a certain age, already knew about cerebral aneurysms, which commonly occur in old age.
When the director finished, Oh Il-mu reached the same conclusion as me.
“So, the procedure the chairman is undergoing now needs to succeed. Then there won't be a need to disclose the will that's set to be revealed in case of prolonged unconsciousness anytime soon.”
The director nodded, looking quite fatigued, pressing his forehead. “Yes. That's correct.”
“When will the procedure be finished?”
* * *
Bang-.
There was no need for the director to answer Oh Il-mu's question. The door to the room we were in burst open roughly, and a doctor entered. She looked much younger than me, so probably an intern or first-year resident. Without even checking who was in the room, the poor female doctor rattled off rapidly.
“Director, it's an emergency. We attempted coiling on patient Kwon Byung-do, but the aneurysm clipping failed, increasing the bleeding volume, and the hematoma size continues to grow. He's being moved to the OR now, and they're saying they'll proceed with emergency surgery under the neurosurgery department head immediately.”
Ugh-. She used terms like aneurysm and OR like some kind of code, but no one in this room failed to understand. The procedure that would determine whether Chairman Kwon Byung-do would recover quickly had failed, and blood was gushing out through the hole in his brain.
The director, his face drained of color, looked at Oh Il-mu and me, then at Secretary Han Seung-woo, scanning everyone's faces in the room before pressing his forehead.
“Understood, so go.”
“Huh?”
The director finally snapped at the tactless female doctor. “Go do your job!”
“Y-yes!”
The poor baby doctor finally seemed to grasp the situation, her face turning bright red as she bowed repeatedly to all of us before leaving the room. That baby doctor would probably receive personal training from the director starting tomorrow on how to explain poor prognoses in front of patient guardians. The price for pulling such a stunt in front of Chairman Kwon Byung-do's guardians would be an enormous scolding.
While everyone in the room was eyeing each other, the one who broke the uncomfortable atmosphere was Oh Il-mu, who had work to do.
“As I understand it, the procedure for Chairman Kwon Byung-do that Director Maeng just emphasized as very important has failed, and it seems we're moving into surgery where it's difficult to predict the prognosis. Is that correct?”
After glaring at the door the baby doctor had left through as if to kill it, the director finally regained his composure and answered Oh Il-mu.
“Yes. Regrettably, that's what happened. However, my promise that Chairman Kwon Byung-do's life won't be in danger still holds.”
“I also hope the chairman wakes up soon. But at this point, I can't help but ask about the recovery timeline.”
The director lowered his head once before continuing, looking at some spot on the wall rather than Oh Il-mu.
“Given that the coiling procedure failed and his overall condition doesn't seem good, and as a neurosurgeon myself, in cases like this emergency brain surgery, the possibility of recovery within a week is very low. It can sometimes take several months.”
Secretary Han Seung-woo, emitting Mr. Bloodbath's glare, pressed the flustered director further. “You're also a neurosurgeon, Director, yet someone else is performing the surgery now?”
Faced with that murderous gaze, the director finally wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Ah, that's right. I'm a subspecialist in spinal surgery within neurosurgery, and the current neurosurgery department head performing the surgery is an unparalleled expert in brain surgery in this country. Please trust our hospital. We will not disappoint you. If any unfortunate incident occurs, as I mentioned earlier, regarding my position as director...”
Oh Il-mu, also flustered, glanced at me before replying. “Ah, no. I'm not a family member of Chairman Kwon Byung-do, and I'm no longer affiliated with QS Group. If something happens to the chairman, I'll certainly be heartbroken, but matters regarding the hospital director position aren't something you should discuss with me.”
If left alone, it was clear that in this small room with only four people, a chaotic mix of emotional stories would spill out. Now that I knew what was happening and what would come next, it was time for me to step in and organize the situation.
“Director?”
Unlike Oh Il-mu who had just expressed humility, I was both a family member of Chairman Kwon Byung-do and held an important position in QS Group. Sensing this, the director straightened his back as if his hair stood on end and looked at me.
“Yes, young master.”
“For now, I'd like to discuss the chairman's future position slowly. I don't think this is the time to carelessly discuss such a critical matter while Chairman Kwon Byung-do, who leads Myeongryun University Hospital, is unconscious.”
“I'm sorry. I'll just do my best for the chairman's recovery.”
“Still, objectively, and as a medical professional, there's something I'd like your help with. Is it true that our father has a very low chance of meeting us in his previous state within the next week?”
“... Yes. That's correct.”
My gaze turned to Oh Il-mu. “As a fellow attorney, I'd like to say that based on the fact the director just confirmed, the contents of the will prepared for when father is unconscious should be disclosed according to the disclosure conditions.”
Oh Il-mu bowed his head toward me. “Yes. I'll proceed as you said.”
“And, Director?”
The director, who had just caught his breath, now straightened from his ankles to the top of his head and looked at me.
“Y-yes, young master.”
“None of us here wish for our father's surgery to fail. So please explain what kind of surgery is being performed and through what process, and I'd like to observe the ongoing surgery myself. Is that possible?”
“Yes. Our hospital operates an observation room equipped with video equipment for guardians' right to know and for educational purposes in all operating rooms......”
This guy really seemed worried to the end that I might fire him.
“Yes. Understood. I'll look into the hospital's operational status separately. I'd like to move to the operating room now and observe with your explanation. Would that be alright?”
“Yes, yes. Of course.”
While Oh Il-mu left the room to do his work, Secretary Han Seung-woo and I moved to the surgery observation room. And what we witnessed there was far different from the director's hopes—Chairman Kwon Byung-do receiving multiple blood transfusions and CPR.
Anyway, after several hours, the surgery ended, and the director left after saying he had done everything possible in the operating room.
* * *
And shortly after, a group of people arrived at the guardian waiting room exclusively for Chairman Kwon Byung-do, where I was sitting alone on the sofa, rubbing my tired eyes.