Chapter 13

I started my day with an incision and disinfection, but anyway, today was also my second day in medical school.

When I went to school yesterday, I was so distracted trying to avoid trouble that I couldn't think straight, but now that I was riding in a carriage, I had some time to reminisce.

'What did I do on the second day of pre-med? I think I just played around.'

I really did just play around.

It's not like it was the second year of pre-med, so what could they expect from someone on their second day?

The kids who had studied like crazy for six years in middle and high school to get into medical school were so relieved that they went wild with freedom.

But this place was different.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Zemel, an internal medicine doctor... and I'll be teaching physiology."

...

Physiology on the second day?

I was a bit nervous.

I couldn't help it.

When you get into clinical practice, physiology is the first thing you forget.

"Alright... this is a diagram of our body."

So, I stared at the blackboard with a more tense expression than when Dr. Listen came in yesterday.

Zemel drew on the board with chalk, making straight lines.

I wondered what he was drawing, and it turned out to be a person.

"The most important thing is breathing, breathing. This breathing will happen in the lungs in some way."

Hmm.

Breathing happens in the lungs.

Well, there's no arguing with that.

As I nodded, he continued.

"This is a very difficult concept... listen carefully. There are currently two conflicting theories. First, there's the theory that the oxygen from the air we breathe enters the venous blood in the lungs."

It's not a theory... that's just how it works, right?

I widened my eyes, but the other students were just taking notes.

Well, what would happen if I raised my hand and spoke up?

You have to choose the right time and place for a Joseon joke.

If I did it carelessly, I'd be dead for sure.

So, I stayed silent for now.

"But there's a theory that directly contradicts this. It says that oxygen and carbon dioxide haven't been found in the blood. Common sense says that a chemical reaction can't happen without direct contact. I also think... this theory is more credible. But... the problem is that there's no alternative."

Ah.

Crazy.

They haven't found oxygen in the blood?

Why couldn't they find it, you idiots?

It's right there.

The red blood cells are carrying it.

"Perhaps it's because a substance called serum is carrying the oxygen in our bodies."

Serum?

It's not serum, it's red blood cells.

"Anyway, breathing is essential for our survival. Our body heat and temperature are also maintained by this breathing."

Not a single thing he said was 100% correct.

What should I call this?

Skimming the surface?

No, it's more like a blind man touching an elephant.

Anyway, everything was just superficial.

The problem was that he was so confident about it.

'Hmm... there's nothing to listen to here.'

The only thing I was sure of in the midst of all this was one thing.

The medicine of this era has the potential for explosive development, but at this point, it's just a mess.

If there's anything for me to learn here, I should reflect on it.

In other words, there's nothing to learn.

"Alright, this is a muscle. When it contracts, our body moves. Watch carefully. When the hand contracts, it moves like this."

Oh.

As I was thinking that, another plausible statement followed.

Well, muscles are kind of easy, I guess.

It's too intuitive, isn't it?

"The problem is what causes this movement."

Ah.

I take back what I said about it being intuitive.

The movement itself can be roughly understood with just anatomy, but the mechanism behind it is quite complicated, isn't it?

"When you dissect, you'll see something like a white string. That's called a nerve... and it has excitability. When it gets excited in some way, the muscle moves."

Yeah, there's no way you guys would know that mechanism.

I looked out the window for a moment.

The glass was unnecessarily well-made, so the sunlight streaming in was too bright.

Looking out the window, it felt like Earth, but looking at the blackboard, it felt like another world.

Was it really like this in the 19th century?

Isn't the 19th century pretty close to the 20th century?

"If you can figure this out... you could leave your name in history. But it's not easy. And since you're aiming for surgery... well, it's practically impossible."

No, you're not leaving your name in history either...

Even if you listen to this without knowing anything, doesn't it feel like the theory is full of holes?

You should feel rebellious!

"Pyeong-ah."

"Yeah?"

Take a page out of Joseph's book.

As soon as break time started, he called me over to ask questions.

"Other than that... I don't really understand this thing about the excitability inherent in nerves. What do you think?"

Honestly, I was a bit nervous.

This guy is the one who dreams of becoming like Dr. Listen.

'If worse comes to worst, I can just feed him some Joseon mystery.'

But I decided to give a proper answer.

I wasn't going to talk about neurotransmitters or ATP (an organic compound present in all living organisms).

If I talk about that while selling Joseon, what would happen?

At best, I'd be seen as a fraud; at worst, a madman or even Satan.

I'd be burned at the stake.

"I also think that's a bit strange. The inherent excitability... is probably just a rough explanation because they don't understand the principle of how force works there."

"Force?"

"Force?"

Another voice chimed in, and my heart sank.

Thinking it might be Zemel, I quickly turned my head, but it was my senior.

That bastard Alfred.

"Ah, you scared me."

"Can't I join the discussion?"

"No, well...

It didn't seem like there was any reason he couldn't.

This senior was definitely becoming one of my people.

It might not be the case right now, but after seeing his hand earlier, I could tell.

We'd have to stick together for ten days.

By then, he'd be impressed by my great medical skills and bow down to me.

Thinking that today was just an extension of that, I spoke up.

I was still fiddling with my short hair.

If I get the chance, I'll grow it out to look more mysterious.

"Anyway, let's talk about force. Everyone knows this, right?"

"Yeah?"

Newton.

He was from the 1700s, right?

'There's no way I'll end up being the founder of the laws of thermodynamics or motion, right?'

Even though I've forgotten a lot about other fields after going to medical school and working at a hospital, I'm still a science guy.

And I was the top of my class.

Yeah, that's for sure.

Feeling confident, I finally continued.

"Watch carefully. I lifted this. See?"

"Yeah."

"When you lift something off the ground, you need that much force, right? You know about gravity. It's overcoming the force that the Earth is pulling with."

"Yeah, that's right."

Yeah, that's correct.

He knows that.

Feeling relieved, I said,

"Then where does this opposing force come from?"

"Huh? You lifted it."

"Yeah, you lifted it. Pyeong-ah."

Yeah, I lifted it.

"Right. I lifted it. So where did the force I used to lift this object come from?"

"Uh... muscles...?"

"Yeah, the muscles contracted. But if that was just due to inherent excitability... would force be generated? Shouldn't we think that this force was generated by some other reason?"

"Uh... yeah. Hmm. Even if excitability generates force... the force we use every time... huh."

Fortunately, Joseph and Alfred were people who dreamed of becoming doctors, so they were capable of thinking.

In 21st-century Korea, if you couldn't understand this, you'd be treated as an idiot, but in the 19th century, that wasn't the case.

People with this level of knowledge were really rare.

Joseph and I were able to do this because we studied hard at Upton, and the senior probably did too.

'Should I talk about food? Digestion... is something you should know about, right?'

I hesitated, watching their reactions.

Humans have known about eating food and excreting waste since ancient times.

It's instinctive.

But understanding it scientifically is another matter.

At the same time, it didn't seem too difficult.

Human history is essentially the history of war.

If you see a soldier who died from a stomach wound, you'd see the food inside, right?

If you think about it, isn't it obvious that food goes from the stomach to the small intestine and then to the large intestine?

'No, let's talk about the digestive system later.'

But I held back.

They were already too impressed by my insight.

"Shouldn't we bring this up with the professor?"

The senior even said something like that.

You crazy bastard, I did you a favor, and now you're trying to burn me at the stake.

"No, no. It's just my humble opinion."

"It doesn't sound humble. My father donates a lot to this place, so your words will carry weight."

"No, no."

You bastard, don't...

Please don't.

"Ah, senior."

"Yeah?"

"Your hand."

"My hand?"

If words don't work, what else can I do?

I'll have to use a knife.

It was about time anyway.

"It's red, isn't it?"

"Ah..."

"It's much better than before, but you should have it checked when you get home. If you leave it like this, it'll rot. No, it's probably already started to rot a bit."

"Ugh."

Yeah.

That's more like our senior.

Just a moment ago, he didn't even seem to know he had fingers.

Now he's acting like his fingers are the only thing in the world.

It's only natural.

I've already seen him almost die several times.

Maybe the risk of death is higher for the senior here than for my brothers out at sea?

'No, if it weren't for me, he'd already be dead.'

Anyway, after class ended, we left and got into the carriage.

-Those cowards. They're skipping dissection again. And a new body just came in today.

Our classmate.

Ignoring the snide remarks from the rich brat, Joseph just shrugged, but I'm not that broad-minded, so I asked the senior.

"Senior, what's up with that guy?"

I made sure to fully convey my dislike for him.

"Ah... well, he's the youngest son of my father's rival family."

"Rival? So, is he as rich as your family?"

"Yeah. Probably."

"Ah."

Oh.

Good thing I didn't hit him earlier.

If I had, I'd be dead without a trial.

"Ah, so you'll be staying here for a while? My son is in your debt, so please take care of him."

My heart sank for a moment, and when I looked, it was the old man.

I need to talk about condoms.

But he was patting my shoulder with such a warm expression that I missed my chance.

'Ah...

When should I bring it up?

"Give me your hand."

"Okay."

The clueless senior held out his hand without considering my feelings.

It couldn't be helped.

Anyway, this is why I'm staying here.

'But I can't just suggest we have a drink.'

This isn't about manners; it's about a doctor's conscience.

Offering alcohol to someone who might have bacteria growing on them?

And it'd be weird to suggest the three of us have a drink without the youngest.

So, I sat as far away from the hellish cauldron in the kitchen as possible, helplessly cutting into his finger,

"Ahhhh!"

After hearing the senior's scream, I came out to find the house feeling a bit crowded.

"What's going on?"

"Ah, there's going to be a banquet."

"Ah, a banquet?"

"Yes."