Chapter 48: I Can't Take It Anymore (1)

"Ah, hahaha. Thank you."

Suhyeok, unexpectedly receiving thunderous applause, went to sit in a corner.

He then briefly listened to Director Lee Hyun-jong's lecture on the weekend PBL homework.

It only lasted about 20 minutes.

Suhyeok's lecture had run longer than scheduled.

But no one, including Lee Hyun-jong, blamed Suhyeok.

His lecture was worth the time.

It was even interesting.

"Hey, Suhyeok."

"Yes."

After quickly finishing the lecture, Lee Hyun-jong spoke to Suhyeok on the way back to the hospital.

Suhyeok, who had been focused on Lee Hyun-jong from the start, responded immediately.

"You did really well today."

"Thank you."

"I'm not just saying that; you have talent. Not just in treating patients, but... yeah, in teaching and presenting."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Since spring has already passed, forget it. How about presenting something in the fall? You know, that thing with Professor Kim Jin-sil. Why don't you present that?"

"Ah..."

Suhyeok finally recalled the joint research with Professor Kim Jin-sil.

'She said something about liver cancer... but I haven't come up with any ideas yet.'

If all else fails, Professor Kim Jin-sil had offered to provide one.

[Please wait a little longer. I will definitely.]

Baruda was being stubborn.

He wanted to come up with the idea himself to prove his research capabilities.

For Suhyeok, this was a good thing, so he let it be.

"I'll give it a try."

Anyway, if Baruda was so determined, something would definitely come out of it.

That's why Suhyeok could say this with a confident voice.

Director Lee Hyun-jong was pleased, of course.

"Good. Don't struggle alone. How about working with Shin Hyun-tae... No, he can only get into The Lancet. It's not a bad place, but you know."

"Ah, yes..."

In fact, The Lancet was a journal that one could be proud of.

Not many people had published there.

But Lee Hyun-jong, deeply immersed in the prestige of NEJM, didn't think so.

He firmly believed that only NEJM was a real journal.

"Right. Let's write the abstract together. I'm not a gastroenterology professor, but I know the basics."

He probably knew as much as any decent professor.

If Suhyeok was a Baruda-induced acquired genius, then Lee Hyun-jong was a real genius.

"Yes, Professor."

"Wow, it's getting hot, isn't it? Walking makes it feel even hotter."

Lee Hyun-jong muttered as he entered the back door of the hospital's first floor.

The air conditioning felt even cooler because of the sweat that had built up in that short time.

"Yeah, it's summer, I guess."

"Summer is a good season. Especially for someone like me who deals with hearts."

"Ah... Heart diseases will definitely decrease, right?"

"Of course. They'll decrease a lot."

They continued their conversation as they walked down the narrow path leading from the back door to the hospital's main corridor.

It was a place where patients and their families didn't walk.

This path led directly to the medical school, dormitories, animal laboratories, and assistant professor research labs, and was quite secluded.

Therefore, the people who walked this path were all doctors.

"Hey, look at that. The director is being so affectionate, isn't he?"

"Is he just being favored? Is Kim Jin-yong really crazy?"

"Wow... I almost believed that guy and almost got into trouble. Wow... I almost got screwed, really..."

Among them were many third-year internal medicine residents.

They were in a position where they needed to publish papers soon, so they had to rush to the labs and assistant professor research labs.

It would be truly unfair if, after three years of hard work, they couldn't take the specialist exam due to a lack of publications.

"Hello! Director!"

They whispered like this and then bowed deeply to Lee Hyun-jong, who was approaching.

Lee Hyun-jong, as always, nodded without being too warm or too cold.

It was a qualitatively different response from how he treated Suhyeok.

"Hey, good job."

"Yes, Professor!"

Thanks to this, the rumor about Suhyeok being a poor student, spread by Kim Jin-yong and Hwang Seon-woo, faded away again.

Anyway, the two, having added another misunderstanding, continued walking down the corridor.

"Patient!"

"Huh?"

They turned their heads simultaneously at the shout from the right.

It was the emergency room.

"A motivated friend has come down. The voice is so loud, really."

The director stopped for a moment and muttered.

He was thought to be extremely busy, but it didn't seem to be every day.

Suhyeok, who had no more important schedule than walking with the director, stopped next to Lee Hyun-jong.

Tap.

It was a relief because he had been struggling to keep up with the quick steps of the impatient Lee Hyun-jong, who was leaning on a cane.

"Patient! The mental state is completely gone! Has the MRI room been contacted?"

In the meantime, the urgency in the shout had only increased, whether the patient's condition had worsened or if it had been that way all along but was only now discovered.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

At the same time, the interns and emergency room residents ran toward the source of the shout.

Unlike when they were just walking, now they could clearly see where they were going.

'The treatment room...'

It was a place where particularly critical patients from the emergency room were treated.

Moreover, several doctors were rushing there?

The worst-case scenario could be imagined.

Rattle.

Before long, the bed with the patient was pushed out by several doctors.

A tube was inserted into the patient's neck, and an intern was frantically squeezing the artificial respiration bag.

'Unconscious. No spontaneous breathing.'

[MRI probably refers to a brain MRI.]

'An acute cerebrovascular disease with loss of consciousness.'

[The prognosis will be very poor.]

While Suhyeok and Baruda were discussing, Lee Hyun-jong also spoke.

"Are they going to the MRI room now?"

His tone suggested he wasn't quite satisfied.

Naturally, Suhyeok's head turned toward Lee Hyun-jong.

"Yes, probably. They'll take an image of the head. The person who shouted just now... I know his face, he's a neurology resident."

"Ah, a neurology resident. Hmm."

"Why... do you say that?"

"Well, I just have a bad feeling."

"Huh?"

"I want to go and see if I didn't have a meeting... Hmm..."

Lee Hyun-jong alternated his gaze between the patient being wheeled away and the watch on his wrist, then turned to Suhyeok.

"Go and take a look."

"Me? But the patient has already been transferred to neurology, hasn't it?"

"Yes. Still, go and take a look. Use my name. The residents will listen to you."

That was true.

Who would dare say anything if the director ordered it?

Moreover, if Suhyeok said it, the effect would be doubled.

He was the hidden son of Lee Hyun-jong.

"Ah... Yes, I understand. Should I also inform you about the patient's condition?"

"Yes. When I go into the meeting. If it's something the neurology department can handle, don't notify me. Call me if something seems off."

"But it's a meeting. Is it okay?"

"Talking about money is boring. I'll be happy to come out."

The vice director and the head of the internal medicine department would be in trouble, but that wasn't Lee Hyun-jong's concern.

He had decided that the director's job was just a figurehead.

"Ah, yes..."

Suhyeok bowed, wondering if the hospital would be okay like this.

Meanwhile, the patient was getting farther away, seemingly entering the MRI room.

Seeing this, Lee Hyun-jong patted Suhyeok's shoulder.

"Stop the formalities and go quickly."

"Yes, Professor."

"Call me if anything is off. Even if it's not a cardiovascular issue."

"Yes."

Lee Hyun-jong walked down the corridor with a face that seemed to hope for some interesting developments.

Suhyeok looked at him for a moment, then headed toward the MRI room.

Tap.

Tap.

With the sound of his cane.

He wanted to run, but he wasn't that familiar with it yet.

Even if he got used to it, he probably wouldn't be able to run.

'Why did the professor tell me to go and see? Does he have some basis for it?'

With his slow steps, Suhyeok asked Baruda to organize his thoughts.

Baruda was also analyzing Lee Hyun-jong's statement but hadn't come up with any concrete results.

[I have stored the visual information from when Director Lee Hyun-jong spoke.]

'Oh.'

Suhyeok was amazed at the scene that appeared like a photo.

[The visible information about the patient is heart rate, 62. There's some noise, probably due to movement. Also, the blood pressure... the last digit is cut off.]

'Can't see anything at all?'

[It seems to be a two-digit number. If so, the systolic blood pressure is below 100, which is not uncommon in a situation of loss of consciousness.]

[The breathing was being assisted... and the oxygen saturation was naturally 100. What did you see?]

[It's more likely to be a gut feeling.]

'A gut feeling.'

Suhyeok's head tilted in confusion.

For a real internal medicine doctor like Lee Hyun-jong to use the term 'gut feeling' was strange.

'Well, Professor Lee Hyun-jong is a bit eccentric...'

But on the other hand, it made sense because it was Lee Hyun-jong.

He was a rather strange person.

Knock.

While organizing his thoughts, Suhyeok finally reached the MRI room and knocked, then entered.

Inside, the neurology resident he had seen before and a radiologist were standing side by side.

"Oh? Doctor Suhyeok?"

The neurology resident remembered Suhyeok very clearly because of his outstanding performance in diagnosing radiation necrosis.

Thanks to this, Suhyeok could naturally join in without having to use Lee Hyun-jong's name.

"Ah, yes. I was passing by and it seemed a bit urgent."

"I see. Yes, the patient... came in with loss of consciousness. Usually, this means a poor prognosis. If the consciousness is shaken by a stroke or bleeding..."

Permanent aftereffects were often left.

Many cases also led to death.

Naturally, the neurology resident's expression was not good.

Even though it was a patient he had seen in the emergency room and was not familiar with by name or face.

Anyway, it was natural for the resident to look worried given the poor condition of the patient assigned to him.

"The image is coming through."

The radiologist spoke to the resident, pointing at the screen.

The resident, who had been waiting for the image, immediately turned his head with a grateful nod.

"Hmm. There's... a stroke. Oh, no... Damn."

He shook his head darkly as he saw the stroke in the patient's brain.

Suhyeok also showed a similar reaction.

"Hmm. Yes."

He decided there was no need to contact Lee Hyun-jong.

But Baruda had a different opinion.

[There is a stroke, but it may not be the cause of the loss of consciousness.]

"Huh? What do you mean?"

[Suhyeok, look closely. The area is too small. A stroke of this size would not cause loss of consciousness.]

"Huh? What...?"