Chapter 90: Outpatient (1)

‘What’s this?’

Dr. Steve, who seemed to be in charge of guiding Suhyuk, muttered under his breath in a voice that Suhyuk couldn’t possibly hear.

Even if Suhyuk had Baruda, it wouldn’t make him hear what he couldn’t hear.

Naturally, he couldn’t hear what Dr. Steve said.

[He’s annoyed that he has to teach someone from a backward country.]

But he could see.

And Baruda could read lips.

Suhyuk had been taught the method, but it wasn’t easy.

It seemed very easy for the AI, though.

‘Backward country?’

[Is he crazy? How dare he call South Korea, the birthplace of this great Baruda, a backward country? Should I kill him?]

‘What? Kill him… What are you talking about, man?’

[He deserves to die for insulting my great country.]

‘Country…’

Baruda’s reaction was quite unexpected.

But upon reflection, it did make some sense.

After all, South Korea was the country that created him.

It was a bit strange for an AI to have a sense of belonging, though.

[Steve… this guy…]

‘No, you’re not suddenly taking control of my body, are you?’

Suhyuk expressed his concern over Baruda’s intense reaction.

He was worried that Baruda might use his body to harm or kill Steve.

Realistically, it would be almost impossible for Suhyuk, who had a leg injury, to do anything to Steve, who was over 180 cm tall and weighed over 100 kg.

Still, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.

After all, Baruda had once controlled Suhyuk’s mouth.

Though it was only for a brief moment and involved a simple utterance.

[What are you talking about? I’m not a parasite. That’s impossible.]

‘Yeah, that’s right.’

[Still, I need to get revenge.]

‘What, what kind of revenge?’

[What kind of revenge can a doctor do? I’ll flatten his nose. I’m curious to see what expression he’ll have when he gets kicked by a doctor from a backward country.]

‘Well… yeah.’

The motivation might be impure, but the outcome wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Baruda had promised to do his best, after all.

There probably weren’t many doctors in the United States who could match him.

Especially since TaeHwa Medical Center was world-class, and he had been there.

[Let’s find out more about Steve… Ah, there’s a file about Steve in the emails Ihyeon-jong exchanged with this hospital.]

‘What?’

[He has an interesting background. Both his parents are faculty members at Iowa State University, so he’s lived here his whole life. In the U.S., high schools, universities, and hospitals are usually in different regions. Anyway, he’s a typical country boy.]

‘Is this place a countryside?’

[Didn’t you see the cornfields on both sides when we came from the airport to the accommodation?]

‘Oh, right.’

The university buildings are grand, so they don’t give a shabby impression.

But it’s certainly not a fancy neighborhood.

Especially compared to Seoul, it’s a stark contrast.

Thinking about this, Suhyuk felt a bit more lenient.

He thought it was just a country boy who didn’t know anything.

In contrast, Baruda thought the opposite.

[How dare a hick from the sticks ignore me, the pride of TaeHwa Group, the best company in South Korea?]

Actually, Steve had ignored Suhyuk, not Baruda.

But the deranged Baruda was already in a state where normal thinking was impossible.

As time passed, Steve, who had been sighing, looked at Suhyuk with a blank expression.

“Let’s get to work. Do you speak English?”

It was a very provocative statement, and it was enough to hurt Suhyuk’s feelings.

‘Look at this guy? Asking if I speak English?’

In fact, without Baruda, his English wasn’t that great.

But a bad mood is a bad mood.

In this regard, Baruda and Suhyuk were on the same page.

They weren’t stupid enough to pick a fight with a powerful enemy.

“Yes, I do.”

So he replied, and the response he got was even more outrageous.

“Wow, I’ve never seen an Easterner say they speak well. Do you really speak well?”

He even spoke faster on purpose.

Of course, it was no problem for Baruda.

His processing speed was much faster than Steve’s.

“Yeah, but where are we going?”

“Ah, first… I want to introduce you to Dr. Alison. Do you know him?”

Steve looked at Suhyuk as if he had no reason to know.

Unfortunately for him, Suhyuk knew Alison very well.

[Alison is in the field of cardiology.]

‘His name often appears in cardiovascular papers.’

[If I had to name the most famous paper, it would be…]

He even knew the papers Alison had written by heart.

“Yes, I read the paper titled ‘Factors Predicting the Likelihood of Developing Cardiovascular Disease Over the Next Five Years,’ published in the American Heart Journal last December. It left a strong impression on me.”

“Oh… Oh. That’s right.”

Baruda smiled with satisfaction as Steve nodded, looking a bit flustered.

[This guy didn’t know, did he?]

‘Yeah. He just likes to show off but doesn’t study.’

In fact, before meeting Baruda, Suhyuk would have spent more time thinking about how to go out and have fun or how to become a specialist and make a lot of money.

But he had changed.

He had become someone who valued studying more than most university professors.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Anyway, Dr. Alison’s lab wasn’t that far away.

The entire floor where the internal medicine department was located was used as a lab.

Given the limited space in Seoul, it seemed that the use of land here was much more generous.

“Dr. Alison, this is Suhyuk from South Korea. He’s here for a one-month training program.”

Steve knocked and entered, bowed to Alison, and introduced Suhyuk.

“Oh.”

Dr. Alison let out a short sigh and looked at Suhyuk with a peculiar expression.

He seemed to have heard of the name.

‘This must be the friend that Ihyeon-jong was boasting about.’

Normally, it would be absurd for a professor to recognize a trainee, especially a one-month short-term trainee.

Iowa State University Hospital was not only a good hospital but also known for its excellent education.

This month alone, there were several short-term trainees like Suhyuk.

Of course, the money the trainees paid was the biggest reason for the hospital’s financial benefit.

Still, it was quite rare for a department head to recognize a short-term trainee.

‘He said he wanted to show me quickly, so he moved the schedule up… Hmm.’

Ihyeon-jong wasn’t just famous in South Korea.

His nickname was World Star Ihyeon-jong.

He was even once considered as a candidate for the president of the International Heart Association.

At that time, South Korea’s status wasn’t that high, and due to the influence of those who envied Ihyeon-jong among South Korean cardiologists, it didn’t happen.

Still, Ihyeon-jong was a renowned doctor even by Alison’s standards.

‘He doesn’t look particularly special.’

The cane was a bit noticeable.

But strictly speaking, it was a weakness, not a characteristic.

So Alison nodded, still unsure.

“You’re from TaeHwa Medical Center, right? I hope you have a good month. The system here in the U.S. is quite different from South Korea, so I think you’ll learn a lot.”

It was a statement that conveyed a different kind of pride compared to Steve.

To say that there would be something to learn required a considerable amount of confidence.

Of course, the tone and expression were quite different, so it didn’t sound too unpleasant.

It even felt quite friendly.

“Yes, Dr. Alison. I’ve learned a lot from your papers. It’s an honor to meet you in person. Especially the paper titled ‘Factors Predicting the Likelihood of Developing Cardiovascular Disease Over the Next Five Years,’ published in the American Heart Journal last December, left a strong impression on me.”

“Oh, oh. You read that?”

It was almost impossible to pinpoint the characteristics of university hospital professors.

There were too many strange people, and there were so many of them.

But there was one common point.

They all had a good impression of people who read their papers.

Even Alison was no exception.

“Yes. Research with an N of 100,000 is rare, and to incorporate so many variables… It was really impressive and useful.”

“Haha. It took a lot of work to write that.”

Alison laughed heartily, clearly in a good mood.

It was natural.

Not only did he read it, but he also pointed out the exact points where he had struggled and thought hard.

He suddenly pointed to something outside the window.

It was a beautiful garden surrounded by tall trees.

But what Alison pointed to was not the garden but the huge building beyond it.

“Oh, that’s my lab. If you have time… Would you like a tour?”

“Yes, of course. It would be an honor.”

Suhyuk nodded sincerely.

Clinically, there probably wasn’t much difference between TaeHwa Medical Center and Iowa State University Hospital.

It wasn’t that Iowa State University Hospital was bad.

It was just that TaeHwa Medical Center was too excellent.

But in terms of research capabilities, the difference was laughable.

The amount of money invested was enormous.

[That’s good. It will be helpful.]

‘Yeah, there’s something to learn, I guess.’

He thought that visiting such a lab might give him some insights.

While Suhyuk was lost in thought, Alison slowly got up.

“Oh, I have an angiography today. I’ll go now. What’s Suhyuk’s schedule for today?”

He asked Steve.

Steve had to flip through the notebook in his pocket before he could answer.

“Yes, today… You’ll observe Dr. Hank’s ward rounds.”

“Oh… Is Steve your attending physician now?”

“Yes.”

Alison nodded at Steve and turned to Suhyuk.

“Okay, then observe well… I’ll see you at the conference tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Dr. Alison.”

Then he left immediately.

Suddenly, Steve, who had been like a lamb, changed his attitude and looked at Suhyuk.

“You read that paper before coming here, right? That’s good. Dr. Alison is strict, so you’ll get less scolded when observing him.”

He seemed to think that others lived the same way he did.

Suhyuk was about to say something, but Baruda surprisingly stopped him.

[Let’s show him up in the outpatient clinic. As an internal medicine doctor, with knowledge.]

“Huh?”

“Dr. Hank. You’ll observe… Ah, this is Suhyuk from South Korea.”

“Oh… Okay, okay. Take good care of him.”

“Yes, Dr. Hank