Chapter 95: Breaking the Seal (1)

"Uh... Hello, hello."

Suhyuk entered the internal medicine department around 8 o'clock.

While this could not be considered extremely late, it was a very relaxed schedule compared to his forced 6 AM start every day.

Therefore, he held a cold iced Americano and a sweet pastry in his hands.

"Hmm, you're finally looking presentable."

Steve bowed deeply, as if the expression "crawling" fit him perfectly, and greeted him.

If Suhyuk were a gentleman, he might have reacted with something like, "Oh, why are you doing this?"

But Suhyuk and Baruda were not such great figures.

Rather, they were the type to harbor small grudges.

Of course, not towards patients.

Especially not towards fellow doctors.

"Yes, well. Is it respiratory today?"

So, Suhyuk nodded and accepted Steve's humiliating greeting.

"Yes, that's right."

Despite this, Steve's attitude did not change.

It was due to what happened after Suhyuk, a trainee, left work at 5 PM yesterday.

'You need to study more.'

'No, no. This isn't something you can learn by studying. He's a resident, right? Does that make sense?'

A meeting was held.

Hank, who had been quietly surprised since the outpatient clinic, finally burst out in the multidisciplinary meeting.

'There must be something in the education system. No matter how excellent an individual is... there are limits.'

Of course, it wasn't entirely wrong.

Didn't Suhyuk have a very excellent personal tutor?

In other words, while Suhyuk's personal efforts played a part, the majority of his current abilities were due to that education.

However, what Hank overlooked was this point.

The education system for Suhyuk was something no one in this world could replicate.

'So, go and learn. Try to figure out how he teaches. That's what you need to do, Steve.'

Anyway, for this reason, Steve found himself burdened with a truly enormous task.

Of course, he didn't like it.

What could he do?

As a resident, if a professor tells you to do something, you have to do it.

Moreover, hadn't he seen with his own eyes yesterday?

That Suhyuk was more excellent than any resident at the University of Iowa Hospital.

"Shall we go? The outpatient clinic is over there."

"Ah, the same place?"

"Not exactly the same place. There's another one next to it."

"Ah, right. It would be strange to have the respiratory and hematology clinics in the same room, wouldn't it?"

Isn't that so?

After all, cancer patients have weakened immune systems, and having a respiratory clinic, which is a breeding ground for droplet infections, in the same place would be unacceptable.

It was a problematic situation both medically and morally.

"Yes, that's right. Yes, yes."

"Then, lead the way. I'll follow. Can I eat this while we go?"

Suhyuk nodded, as if it were obvious, and pointed ahead with his chin.

It was almost as if he were treating Steve like a subordinate, but Steve had no choice but to follow.

'I should have been a bit nicer to him yesterday...'

Regret came too late, but what could he do?

The water had already been spilled and couldn't be gathered back.

"Yes, yes. Follow me..."

So, Steve was doing his best now.

'But it's Korea... Is there really anything so special about it?'

'You've never been to Korea, so don't dismiss it without reason! Seoul is bigger than Chicago!'

The conversation he had with Hank yesterday was still swirling in his mind.

Even if he thought about it, he didn't really feel that Korea was that great.

Still, he thought he should be more careful in front of Suhyuk.

"Ah, Suhyuk. I heard about you."

As they entered the professor's office set up inside the outpatient clinic, Dr. Epps, who was already there, greeted him.

He was a very rare black person in Iowa.

"I've never seen one in Iowa."

'Yeah, me neither.'

Even though Suhyuk had driven around quite a bit over the past three days, this was the first time he had seen a black person.

Of course, Suhyuk wasn't the kind of person to show such thoughts outwardly.

He was qualitatively different from Steve.

After all, the people he had associated with so far were not residents but professors.

And not just any professors, but those at the senior level of academic societies.

Naturally, his perceptiveness had to improve.

"Ah, Professor Epps. Nice to see you."

"Likewise. Hmm... I've never seen Hank praise someone so much... Let's have a good day today."

"Yes, Professor."

"Ah, it might be uncomfortable, but please put this on."

"Ah... Yes."

Suhyuk picked up the mask that Epps pointed to.

It wasn't just a regular surgical mask but an N95 mask.

While it was more commonly used in Korea to filter out fine dust, it was actually designed to prevent infections.

"Ugh, it's so stuffy...?"

Baruda, who was commenting on the mask, suddenly looked a bit strange.

Thinking about it, Suhyuk had been an internal medicine resident for nearly two years.

Among the patients he had seen, there were even those infected with super bacteria.

"But this is the first time I'm wearing one."

'Huh? Oh, right...'

'These crazy Tae-hwa guys? Exposing you to danger every day?'

'This is expensive.'

'Even if it's expensive, still. Are they crazy? Exposing you to infection?'

'Thinking about it, that's true...'

Suhyuk looked around at Steve, Epps, and the other staff members who were wearing the masks as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Thinking about it, it was a natural thing.

After all, South Korea was still not a tuberculosis-free country.

While it wasn't an incurable disease, it was a condition that required taking strong medication for several months, and it was widespread.

The respiratory department mainly treated patients with such conditions.

'They don't even provide these because they're a few thousand won... '

'Seeing this, the U.S. is definitely different.'

From the outpatient clinic yesterday to the multidisciplinary meeting, he could feel the difference.

Here, consideration was spread everywhere.

And this consideration was not just for patients.

It was a system that cared for the medical staff working here and even employees in other departments.

It was quite different from the somewhat exploitative Korean university hospitals.

"Patient's here. Steve, go to room 2. Dr. Lee, come with us."

"Yes, Professor."

While Suhyuk was lost in thought, the light for room 2 turned on.

When the responsible nurse informed them that the patient was ready, the resident and the trainee or intern would go first to see the patient.

Honestly, it didn't feel very efficient for the clinic.

'But it's good for education, right?'

'Of course. Yesterday, Hank was asking questions like he was interrogating a mouse.'

But it was a system that produced excellent specialists.

If Suhyuk had been a resident at a Korean university hospital, he probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to see patients directly in the outpatient clinic like Steve.

At most, he might have seen patients in the emergency room, and solo outpatient clinics would only start in the third year, and even then, only once a week.

'Sigh... I need to ask about the Tae-hwa Medical Center system here...'

Steve looked at Suhyuk, whose face had become slightly serious, and recalled his assigned task.

He had no idea that Suhyuk was actually envious of the education system here.

To him, it seemed strange that Suhyuk was exceptionally smart.

Sure, it might have been possible in the old days.

But it was the 21st century, right?

Modern medicine had made such remarkable progress that individual capabilities were becoming less and less important.

Because an overwhelming amount of knowledge was being produced every day.

In such a situation, the system was more important than individual excellence.

Of course, if someone was as outstanding as Suhyuk, they would be an exception, but that was very rare.

Smart.

While the two were envying each other's systems, they reached room 2.

Steve knocked gently on the door with the glass window, and the patient inside nodded quietly.

Creak.

Only then did Steve head inside, checking his mask again.

Seeing this, Suhyuk also checked his mask.

'I'll definitely do this when I go back to Korea. Even if I have to pay for it myself.'

He was also feeling uneasy.

Baruda was also making a fuss.

"From what I see... You came to the hospital because of a cough, right?"

Meanwhile, Steve started asking questions while looking at the patient's referral letter.

The letter stated that the patient's cough had persisted for over a year, and treatment had been ineffective.

Looking at the patient, his appearance wasn't very good.

'Typical criminal look from American TV shows.'

'Don't say that to the patient, man.'

'You're thinking the same thing, aren't you, Suhyuk?'

Baruda's words made Suhyuk look at the patient again.

A gaunt face with tattoos up to the neck.

And bloodshot eyes.

He didn't look like someone who did good things.

'Yeah, you're right...'

'Yeah... Honestly, he does look like that... But he's here for a consultation. Focus, focus.'

'Yes, yes.'

After suppressing Baruda, Suhyuk listened to the conversation between Steve and the patient.

"Yeah. I've been treated for over a year, but it didn't help at all. They're all quacks. They should have sent me to a university hospital earlier."

"Treatment... Hmm."

Summarizing the medications listed in the referral letter, it seemed that every possible medication had been tried.

All the medications for coughs had been attempted.

Even medications for reflux laryngitis were included.

"An X-ray was taken. Shouldn't that show everything?"

"Let me see the images."

Steve continued the consultation without being affected by the patient's rough words.

Suhyuk was somewhat impressed by his perseverance.

'This must happen often.'

'All kinds of people come here.'

'This is a disadvantage, though.'

'But there's a guard outside. He'll subdue the patient if needed.'

Baruda was talking about the large man standing outside the glass door.

Honestly, he looked more like a villain from American TV shows than the patient inside.

Since he could see everything through the glass, he would come to help if needed.

Thinking about it, it was reassuring.

"Dr. Lee, what do you think?"

Just as Suhyuk was about to continue his thoughts, Steve asked him a question.

It was something that would have been impossible just yesterday morning.

After all, he had already seen Suhyuk's skills.

He asked the question without any hesitation.

"Hmm. There are signs of interstitial pneumonia... But the lung function hasn't declined as much as you'd expect after a year."

"But it has declined, right? It's not normal."

"Ah, yes, that's true."

"Then there must be a cause, right?"

"Well... Yes."

Steve looked at Suhyuk with an expression that said, "What if I say this obvious thing?"

But Suhyuk was not ashamed at all.

He already had a rough idea of the cause.

Of course, he needed to ask a few more questions and confirm some things.

"Guard outside. You'll come in if needed, right?"

"Yes? Ah, yes, of course."

"Then, can I take over the consultation now?"

"Uh... Hmm. Yes, I understand. But... What questions do you plan to ask?"

"Let's see how it goes."