Chapter 10: Doing a Good Shift? (1)

‘Did I do well, right?’

Shin Hyun-tae, the head of the Department of Internal Medicine at Hyun Tae-hwa Medical Center, was a very influential person.

Not only was he exceptionally capable, but he had also married into a powerful family.

His wife was the daughter of the president of Tae-hwa Electronics and also the vice president.

Although it was unclear when, it was a foregone conclusion that Shin Hyun-tae would become the president of Tae-hwa Medical Center.

‘Is this guy really pushing me hard? If so, then really...’

[Why are you only raising one corner of your mouth?]

‘Can you see it?’

[I can sense it.]

‘Man, that’s a weirdly unpleasant way of putting it...’

However, despite his thoughts, Su-hyuk’s mouth still curved upwards towards the sky.

After all, Shin Hyun-tae, who was eyeing the position of the next chief of staff and the presidency, had taken a liking to him.

‘Maybe I really could become a professor.’

Of course, this was a bit too optimistic.

Still, there was a glimmer of hope.

A glimmer that had never been visible to Su-hyuk, the poor kid.

Very gradually.

But surely.

[I support that.]

‘You can drop the "that" part.’

[I support it.]

‘Let’s not argue...’

Su-hyuk shook his head and entered the hospitalization order for patient Oh Jin-kyung.

The attending physician was naturally Shin Hyun-tae, and the primary physician was Su-hyuk himself.

Both Kim Jin-cheol and Oh Jin-kyung were prescribed doxycycline.

If this was truly effective, their symptoms would improve before the weekend.

Psittacosis, while a rare disease, was not difficult to treat once diagnosed.

“Alright, get plenty of rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

After guiding patient Oh Jin-kyung to her room, Su-hyuk entered the doctors' office.

A few people inside greeted him awkwardly and quickly left.

As if a high-ranking official had entered.

It was so strange that it made Su-hyuk raise an eyebrow.

‘Everyone must be really busy.’

For Su-hyuk, this wasn’t a bad thing.

He could use the spacious doctors' office all to himself.

‘It’s not even 10:00 yet... I’ll just write some records and go to bed.’

[Not going to study?]

Baruda emphasized the importance and necessity of studying to Su-hyuk once again.

‘Man... I have a night shift tomorrow... and it’s my first night shift in the emergency room.’

He was paired with the second-year resident, Hwang Seon-woo.

‘Sigh... Really... I just feel like sighing. You won’t understand this feeling. I can’t even sleep.’

Just thinking about going to the emergency room with Hwang Seon-woo made his head throb.

Hwang Seon-woo was already a difficult person to deal with, and on night shifts, he was even worse.

Even angels would turn into devils on those days.

[Then you should study even more, shouldn’t you?]

Baruda was also showing his devilish side.

‘Stop it. Let’s just finish this quickly and see what happens.’

Su-hyuk opened the chart and started writing the progress notes.

He had written mock charts a few times during his student days and had even been told he did a good job.

But he had never felt as smooth as he did now.

‘This is what it feels like to understand the entire diagnostic process from start to finish.’

Why he ordered certain tests, why he asked certain questions, and why he changed certain medications.

As a student, he had simply copied the admission and progress notes written by residents without truly understanding them.

This time, knowing the reasons, the notes flowed like water.

As a result, he finished writing in just 20 minutes, and Baruda didn’t have any complaints about the quality.

He was even a bit smug about it.

[My help was significant, wasn’t it?]

‘What are you talking about? I wrote it myself.’

[Didn’t you rely on me for the diagnostic process?]

‘That’s...’

Honestly, the kind of creative thinking Baruda showed was still impossible for Su-hyuk.

In other words, Baruda’s existence was helping Su-hyuk.

Although the annoyance was greater than the help.

‘Ah, whatever. I’m just going to sleep. I’m too tired.’

His injured left leg was still not used to the crutch, making everything more difficult.

Eventually, he might be able to walk without a crutch, even if he remained a bit lame.

But for now, it was impossible.

[Beep beep beep beep.]

Just as he was about to get up, a strange alarm sounded.

It was a sound that immediately ruined his mood.

‘What the hell is this, you crazy guy.’

[Based on your memories, I reproduced the sound you dislike the most.]

‘Why are you doing this!’

[Study.]

‘You crazy guy.’

[Study.]

‘Sigh...’

After hearing the alarm a couple more times, Su-hyuk looked at the clock.

It was not yet 10:00, which felt quite early.

Since his night shift started at 7:00 AM the next day, he didn’t expect to be woken up by any calls during the night.

‘Alright... Damn it, I’ll study. Study.’

[Do you hate studying so much that you swear? The content you study today could be a crucial clue to saving someone’s life.]

‘No... That’s just a way of speaking. Why do you talk so rudely?’

[I am Baruda, an AI that improves behavior through deep learning.]

‘Why are you introducing yourself out of the blue?’

[I wanted to inform you that my speech habits are influenced solely by you, the only input source.]

‘...Damn it.’

With nothing left to say, Su-hyuk started flipping through the books in the doctors' office, muttering curses.

Given that this was the internal medicine department of Tae-hwa Medical Center, there were an enormous number of books.

Some looked like they had never been read.

Still, the department did not skimp on book support.

‘Alright... I’ll study and give it to someone else...’

It was a true statement, but even more so now that he had Baruda.

The knowledge he read was stored somewhere in his brain and could be recalled instantly.

If he continued to build his knowledge this way, he might one day become the world’s best internist.

‘If that happens...’

He could fly first class on an airplane he had never boarded.

He could try a steak.

He could wear designer clothes.

He could drive a foreign car.

[Your motivation is too impure, but I support you if you study.]

‘Impure? In a capitalist society.’

After saying that, Su-hyuk slowly started flipping through the book.

Although it was all in English, he didn’t feel any major issues reading it.

After all, Su-hyuk had graduated fourth in his class from Tae-hwa University Medical School, one of the best in the country.

While conversation was a different matter, he was confident in his reading ability.

[However, Su-hyuk.]

‘What? You told me to study, so why are you stopping me now?’

[Why do you dislike studying so much? The Su-hyuk in my memory didn’t.]

As Baruda spoke, the corners of Su-hyuk’s mouth began to rise.

It was a similar expression to before, but it felt different.

‘I don’t know if it’s worth saying this to you...’

[Psychologically, it’s meaningful to express your thoughts.]

‘What’s the point of talking to someone who speaks like this?’

But with Baruda bringing up old memories, Su-hyuk felt like he wanted to vent to someone.

It wasn’t a grand story.

Just a conversation with his senior club members.

He realized that the people in the same space were actually living in different worlds.

- Su-hyuk might not know, but I can, and this guy can, get support from home. These days, it takes more than 1-2 years to become a professor. You have to wait at least 4-5 years. I’m just trying to become a professor no matter what.

The condition they chose to become professors was not a passion for research or a stack of knowledge.

It was the money to endure the years of waiting to become a professor.

The money to pay for graduate school.

Money.

‘Right, in a world where you can’t become a professor without money. I’m the one without that money.’

[So you decided to make money.]

‘That’s right. But not anymore.’

In Su-hyuk’s opinion, no one in his class, or even in the classes above and below him, had studied as hard as he did.

No one had taken private lessons and studied all night before exams.

Yet, the reality that he couldn’t become a professor had crushed his dreams.

Now, those dreams were stirring again.

The ability to crush money and everything else.

He could have that in his hands.

[...]

Baruda seemed pleased with the increasingly rapid page-turning and remained silent.

He only spoke again the next morning at 6:00 AM.

[Beep beep beep beep.]

The same terrible alarm.

“Ugh.”

Su-hyuk involuntarily screamed as he got up.

Since he was sleeping on a bunk bed like in any other on-call room, he almost hit his head on the top bunk.

[It’s effective, isn’t it?]

‘What the hell is this in the morning... I set an alarm and slept!’

[At 6:50? I thought it was too tight.]

‘You... It’s a night shift... I need to get some sleep.’

[You won’t get any sleep once the patients start coming in.]

‘Ah...’

If he couldn’t even argue back.

Baruda always said the right things, making it impossible to refute and only increasing his frustration.

‘Damn it.’

He wanted to sleep more, but the alarm in his head was so shocking that he didn’t think he could fall back asleep.

So, he decided to do rounds since he had to do them in the morning anyway.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Much better. I don’t know if it’s because of the medicine or just my mood...”

Fortunately, both Kim Jin-cheol and Oh Jin-kyung had dramatically improved.

Thanks to this, Su-hyuk, who had regained some energy, was able to eat breakfast at the hospital cafeteria.

[Isn’t it good to wake up early?]

But he didn’t respond to Baruda.

He didn’t want to admit it.

And he didn’t have the time to respond.

Ring!

The phone rang right at 7:00 AM, as if it had been waiting.

While it could be considered a miraculous coincidence, in reality, it was almost always like this.

It was awkward to inform the previous night shift about patients who arrived after 6:40 PM.

“This is first-year resident Su-hyuk from Internal Medicine.”

“Yes, doctor. I’m calling about a 45-year-old female patient, Lee Ji-eun, who was transferred from another hospital due to an abdominal mass and weight loss.”

An abdominal mass and weight loss.

It was clearly cancer.

Su-hyuk nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I’ll come down now.”

“Yes, doctor.”

So, Su-hyuk confidently called Hwang Seon-woo.

“It’s cancer. Go down and see the patient, then admit her to the ward.”

“Yes, doctor.”

Hwang Seon-woo, also assuming it was cancer, went down to the emergency room.

While looking at the abdominal CT scan from the other hospital, Baruda spoke.

[It’s not cancer.]