Chapter 7: Doctor Park Dowook (7)

"I'm sorry, Dr. An. I didn't mean to disregard your words."

"It's fine, it's fine. We all survived thanks to you, Dr. Park. You're a life-savior."

"Huh? Didn't he say that to make everyone return to their senses? He wouldn't have killed someone due to a mistake in the operating room, right?"

"Oh my. Dr. Park didn't write a will before entering the surgery, huh?"

"Whaaat?"

The atmosphere in the room relaxed once more with the nurses laughing at An Hosan's joke.

The nerves which had been standing on end as he fixed the skull plate back in and sutured the scalp slowly disappeared. The lights and what-not also couldn't be seen.

'What's wrong with me? It felt like my hands were Last Choi's.'

Dowook let out a forced laugh. It was certainly because he was so sleepy. That was the only reasonable explanation. Or else he'd have to be hospitalized in a mental institution.

Shhhhhhh.

There was someone who slowly approached Prof. Choi who was washing his hands at the entrance of D-rosette.

"Prof. Choiii~~"

At the gossipy call, Prof. Choi turned his head slightly.

"Chief, why are you still here at this hour?"

"The vice-president's orders. I guess you could say it's hospital politics."

"I heard Hong Jin Gu tried to embarrass me and left."

"Why is that 'yeot'? Is a patient food?"

[T/N: It doesn't translate very well in English, but in Korean, 'yeot meog ida,' which means to humiliate/irritate someone, literally means "to feed someone yeot" but yeot is also a type of traditional snack. So they're talking about different yeot.)

Ha Sang Joong came and stood close to Choi Hoo.

"Anyway, how was the assistant today? He might be a little clumsy, but he's a promising kid. He's going to be a fellow next year so I had him 'debut' a bit extravagantly so don't be too hard on him."

"During the surgery, there were complications and that resulted in blocked coronary arteries. We had to perform a second surgery."

"What? But you already came out? Did the patient die?"

Choi Hoo gave the wide-eyed Ha Sang Joong a short reply.

"He is alive."

"Whew, and I was worried. As expected of the hospital's best surgeon. Wait. That means you sutured the cerebral artery, then you sutured the carotid artery, right? But, all that in 3 hours?"

"It's not because of me."

"I'm not blaming anyone, Prof. Choi."

Choi Hoo stood at the entrance of D-rosette after shaking off the water from his hands.

"Hong Jin Gu's substitute. Please don't send anyone other than Park Dowook."

"I got it. I'll find a way to quickly ….. Huh? Our Dowook?"

"Is there another Park Dowook in our hospital? I'm leaving first."

Drrrk.

Ha Sang Joong couldn't close his open mouth until Choi Hoo disappeared from his sight.

Dowook, coming out from the operating room, stopped in place after meeting the snooping Ha Sang Joong.

"What are you doing here, sir?"

"Are you finished? How's the patient?"

"Finishing up inside and about to come out."

When the intern and circulating nurse pushed the cart out, Chief Ha stuck beside Dowook.

"Dowook, we have a big problem."

"What is it?"

"I can't say the specifics in front of so many people. Come to my office right after you finish transferring the patient."

The passing An Hosan bowed to Chief Ha.

"Oh, you've worked hard, too, Dr. An. Dowook, you heard me, right?"

Chief Ha reminded him one more time before leaving the operating ward.

'I wonder what that's all about.'

A few moments later, Dowook spoke in front of the patient who had safely arrived at the ICU.

"Check the patient's vitals every 10 minutes until he wakes up. After that, check every hour. I'll call and inform the patient's legal guardian."

"Yes. Thank you for the hard work, doctor."

Dowook waved at the intern and went to the locker room to change his clothes. Looking at the clock, it was 6:30 in the morning. He had spent the night with a very full schedule.

Dowook turned on his phone and checked the messages he'd received from Seong Chang Soo during the surgery.

[The runaway patient seemed to have removed the needle in the bathroom. It seemed it didn't hurt. The police called and said they still don't know where he went. We know who he is though.]

Dowook called right away.

"Chang Soo."

-Yeah. You were in surgery?

"Just finished. Who is it, the patient?"

-They said it's someone who's managing a neuroscience center in Gangnam. The person who reported the incident seemed to have left the patient's wallet with the police. Name's Ji Gang Cheol. Some kind of professor.

"Ji Gang Cheol? Do you know anything else about him?"

After hearing a sound from the other line, Seong Chang Soo replied.

-I don't know either. They just called back. The police sergeant said if the amount owed isn't that big, we should just leave it be.

"I can't just leave it alone. Transfer the patient's file to our department. We'll take care of it."

-Why all of a sudden?

"Something came up so I think I really need to find this patient."

Dowook clenched and unclenched his fists as he thought of the strange experience of being able to feel the workings of his nervous system.

Who would believe him?

-Your voice sounds really serious. There's nothing truly wrong, right?

"I'm trying to find out. I'm hanging up first."

Dowook swiped his phone's screen and opened the Internet browser. Then he searched for 'Professor Ji Gang Cheol.'

There were a few articles and a video.

[Bankrupt Center. The Fall of the Doctor who Dreamed of Becoming the Second Han Jungwoo]

[Famous Doctor, Known as the Leader in Brain Neurological Research, Charged with Fraud]

Somehow, the situation didn't look good.

Dowook clicked on the video.

In it, he saw the man in a clean suit looking very different from how he looked in the emergency room.

"Humans are jealous animals."

Ji Gang Cheol standing on the podium started talking.

"If you see someone who is better at sports or studying or someone who is good at making things or better-witted, how do you feel?"

He looked at the audience while walking leisurely around the podium.

"You wonder what on earth they ate to grow so well. In front of someone you can't win against even if you tried, one even feels despair."

Once he took a deep breath, he spoke with shining eyes.

"What if, just what if. Although you aren't born special, you end up being especially tall, how would you feel, everyone?"

'This. He's speaking in a roundabout way, but it's similar to the phenomena I experienced in the operating room.'

Matching Choi Hoo's pace and making use of his sense was exactly what the 'special height' mentioned in the video was.

But how?

Dowook looked at his hands carefully.

"Come out, yap."

Although he did something embarrassing, he didn't feel anything weird from his outstretched hands.

Vrrrr.

[You're not coming? It's urgent.]

Chief Ha's message appeared on his phone.

Dowook put on a white coat and quickly headed for the neurosurgery department's chief's office on the 5th floor.

Knock, knock.

"It's Park Dowook."

"Come in quickly. Quickly."

Opening the door, he could see Chief Ha seated while leaning on the sofa. As soon as Dowook sat on the opposite sofa, Chief Ha asked him with wide eyes.

"Did you make a big mistake in the surgery room?"

"Uhhh... nothing special happened."

"Then why did Choi Hoo want you to be his assistant?"

"Me?"

Dowook also became dumbfounded.

"Listen carefully, Dowook. Get dispatched to a rural hospital for about a week. I'll pacify him well and find a replacement for Hong Jin Gu. This time I'll arrange for a saint-like one who can last a year."

"Do we have to do so much?"

"This guy. Anyone who got picked like this by Choi Hoo couldn't last a month before running away."

"The thing is, chief."

Dowook asked with a serious expression.

"Don't you think he asked for me because I did well?"

"...."

There was silence for a while in the chief's office. Chief Ha asked as if he hadn't heard.

"Listen well, Dowook. For about a week….."

"I'll do it."

"Wook?"

"Prof. Choi's skills that I saw in the operating room were too much like a work of art for me to escape in fear."

"You'll do it?"

Dowook thought about what he earned and what he lost. It might not be good for his mental health but to lose the chance to learn from such a talented doctor seemed more like a waste.

"I'll do it. Don't ask me a third time. I'll just get worried."

Chief Ha stared at Dowook in surprise.

"This guy. You really want to grow as a surgeon. Wook!"

"There's no need to be so grand…. Why are you about to cry?"

"The guy, who shaved patients with shaking hands, is all grown up and willing to enter hell and learn from Choi Hoo…. I did a great job teaching a student."

It had been a while since his teacher had looked at him with so much pride. Dowook scratched his chin.

"Then it's all finished, right? I'll wrap up and go home."

"...… That's not gonna work, you brat."

"Why the sudden change in attitude?

Chief Ha, who changed from about to cry to disdain, pushed a document in Dowook's direction.

"The sin you have created, you must fix before you can leave."

"What sin?"

Dowook looked at the document and paused. It was the chart of the VIP who was brought from the hotel yesterday.

"Do a thorough physical examination."

"We can make the others do it in the morning."

"How can we do that? That seems too thoughtless. A related party must be there. The vice-dean said he'll be here by 1 PM. Make sure it's all done before then. Make detailed notes. I'm gonna pass out until then."

Chief Ha lay down on the sofa and covered himself with a blanket. Dowook grabbed the back of his head.

"You said I'm all grown up? You said you took good care of me?"

"Ahem."

"Chief!"

—–

sync : 'Choi Hoo's' surgery skills

action : senses sharpen as to allow one to suture capillaries

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