Chapter 70: Second Year (2)

"Yes, I would be very grateful if you could do that."

Suhyeok was given his own room because he was invited as a presenter, not a resident.

Moreover, Lee Hyunjong added some extra money, so the room was quite spacious.

It was so large that even three or four people could have used it comfortably, and there was even a bed.

"Wow... As expected, you're already being treated like a professor, sir."

In fact, other residents might have seen this as a special favor.

But Ahn Daehoon only seemed to find it impressive.

"No, it's just because I'm a presenter."

He tried to downplay it a bit, but it backfired.

Even the others, who had been quiet until then, started to get excited.

"Wow, I remember, the presentation today!"

"How did you come up with that idea?"

"Talking about bacteria that can occur in drowning victims..."

"I still get goosebumps..."

It was almost like a fan club atmosphere.

For Suhyeok, it was the most awkward situation in the world.

He wasn't that popular in high school or college.

"The food here is also delicious."

"Maybe it's because I'm eating with Teacher Suhyeok, it just melts in my mouth."

But even after the food arrived, the atmosphere continued for a while.

Despite Suhyeok not being much of a drinker and the room service beer being several times more expensive, he didn't order any.

[It's a bit annoying. When are you going to start the study session?]

At first, Baruda, who had been enjoying it, also started to show signs of annoyance.

'I need to start now. My ears are about to burst.'

Suhyeok felt the same way.

No, it was even worse than Baruda.

Baruda had no reason to respond to each of them, but Suhyeok did.

"Alright, let's put this outside."

As soon as he pushed the used dishes outside the room, he decided to show his true colors.

Bang!

Despite the door closing with a strong force, the four soon-to-be first-year residents, who had been excitedly praising Suhyeok, didn't notice a thing.

One of them even muttered that it was impressive.

It was almost as if they had been brainwashed like a cult, which was strange since Suhyeok had never done anything like that.

"Alright, it's getting late. I want to study. Do you want to join me?"

Suhyeok looked at the four soon-to-be first-year residents, trying to hide his exasperation.

He then glanced out the window, half-regretting his decision.

A large slope was visible, and all the other soon-to-be first-year residents were there.

Or maybe they had moved to a drinking party.

In any case, no one would be studying.

"It's an honor."

Of course, there were those who were genuinely excited.

Ahn Daehoon, for instance, seemed genuinely thrilled to be studying with Suhyeok.

'Is he crazy?'

[His enthusiasm is good. Suhyeok had to be forced into it.]

Suhyeok ignored Baruda's sarcastic comment and took out his laptop.

It was a laptop that Lee Hyunjong had bought for him, which was both lightweight and had excellent performance.

He had even given him a portable projector for practice.

Suhyeok took it out and projected it onto the wall.

Then, the folder containing his study materials, patient records, and presentation materials appeared.

"Wow."

While the others looked disappointed, Ahn Daehoon's eyes sparkled.

The only thing that sparkled more, which hurt Suhyeok's heart, was his bald spot.

Anyway, Suhyeok opened one of the files he had organized.

It was an incredibly large file, over 100MB, despite being just a text document.

Click.

After a brief loading time, the file showed all the patient cases Suhyeok had diagnosed since March.

"This... This is..."

"It's my first-year record. I excluded the easy cases, but I included all the repeated diagnoses."

"Wow... This is a treasure."

Tae Hwa Medical Center wasn't a place that only made interns do intern work.

When they rotated through the emergency room, they were involved in the diagnostic process.

This was to give them a sense of what a doctor's role was.

Thanks to this, even the other friends, not just Ahn Daehoon, were now looking excited.

"Symptoms... Medical history... Diagnostic reasoning... When did you organize all of this?"

Ahn Daehoon was the most enthusiastic.

He read everything Suhyeok slowly scrolled through and was amazed.

The file detailed how Suhyeok had examined each patient and what process he had gone through to suspect certain diseases.

'I almost died doing this.'

[But thanks to this, my algorithm has improved a lot.]

'I need to... do more?'

[Of course.]

'Ha.'

Just thinking about it made him want to sigh, as it was such a difficult task.

But the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.

Now, he had a more rational algorithm than when he diagnosed Scedosporium.

Of course, his lack of clinical experience and background knowledge still held him back.

But time would solve that.

Now, Suhyeok was studying on his own.

"I'll send this to each of your emails, so study it. If you have any questions, you can ask me before 12 PM. I don't sleep before then."

When he created it, it was just for improving his algorithm and diagnostic skills, a very personal project.

But now, as a second-year resident, it seemed useful for teaching purposes.

Of course, there were limitations since the others didn't have AI like him.

But it was still a more practical teaching material than the textbooks available on the market.

"Wow... Can we really have this?"

The soon-to-be first-year residents immediately recognized how valuable this material was.

Just reading one case felt as vivid as seeing the patient in person.

"But there's a condition."

"Condition...?"

"I'll give you the March data first. We'll meet at the department at 10 AM next Saturday. I'll see how much you've studied and then give you the April data."

"Ah..."

In other words, if they didn't study, they wouldn't get the data.

'In other words, if they study, they can become Suhyeok's favorite student...!'

Ahn Daehoon looked at Suhyeok, whom he admired so much, with eager eyes.

Suhyeok, of course, had never called anyone his favorite student, but Ahn Daehoon decided to think that way.

He was truly moved by Suhyeok's incredible abilities.

"I'll do it."

So, Ahn Daehoon nodded eagerly, almost desperately, and wrote down his email address on the notepad.

"I... I'll do it too..."

The other soon-to-be first-year residents, who had been watching, also came forward and wrote down their email addresses.

After all, Suhyeok was a powerful figure in the internal medicine department.

Even third-year residents didn't dare to cause trouble with him.

Even the professors made exceptions for Suhyeok.

Not only was he good at studying and treating patients, but he was also the son of the director.

"Alright. Study and see you next week. There's a lot, so you should start today. I'll send it right away."

Suhyeok smiled, happy to finally end his lonely study life.

The others, except Ahn Daehoon, shuddered.

But he didn't care.

'If you're in internal medicine, you have to study.'

It might seem arrogant, but those who had seen Suhyeok closely over the past year would never say that.

Suhyeok had studied every day since he had Baruda.

"Alright, go to your rooms. I've sent it. Study hard and see you next week."

"Ah, yes! I will!"

"Yes, sir..."

The others' voices were unusually small.

Suhyeok, regardless, closed the door as soon as they left and walked to his laptop.

'Can't I just watch a drama?'

He tried to negotiate with Baruda.

[When will you become the world's best internal medicine doctor if you play all the time?]

Of course, Baruda didn't budge.

He was a heartless AI.

It was a bit strange to expect anything else from an AI, but still.

'But I did a presentation today...'

[Was the presentation studying?]

'Ha...'

After being cut off, he tried a few more times but to no avail.

So, Suhyeok looked at the folder he had secretly hidden on his desktop with a regretful gaze and then turned to another folder.

Unlike the one he had shown the soon-to-be first-year residents, this folder contained only papers.

Not just any papers, but those organized by Lee Hyunjong, an international cardiology editor, Shin Hyuntae, an education officer of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and Jo Taejin, a rising star in hematology-oncology.

"Phew."

These were incredibly difficult papers, sent by experts.

Thanks to Baruda's downgraded computational ability, it was quite challenging to understand them immediately.

The only advantage was that there was no language barrier.

'This is hard... Molecular-level research is really tough... Not just clinical...'

[This is the current research trend. You can gain clinical experience in the hospital, but you need to gain research knowledge this way.]

'This makes me realize how far behind our medical research is...'

[It can't be helped. Researching one of these topics costs tens of millions.]

'Should I go to the U.S. then?'

[You're going to the U.S. in the summer, right? Go and see the atmosphere.]

Baruda reminded him of the scheduled training at Iowa State University Hospital in August.

Suhyeok was already looking forward to it, so he felt better.

He had never been on a plane, and his first flight was to the U.S.

It would be strange if he didn't feel good.

But there was still a long time before then.

He had to get through the harsh March first.

March with the inexperienced first-year residents and interns.

* * *

"Huh? What do you mean? The patient was fine just a moment ago, why is this happening?"

"Well, he suddenly started gasping for breath..."

"Don't speak like a family member. Use medical terms. What's your impression?"

"Well, dyspnea (difficulty breathing)?"

"That's a symptom, not a diagnosis... Ah, where is he?"