Chapter 97: Breaking the Seal (3)

"Ah..."

Jesse's face looked as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

He knew very well that marijuana was bad.

But he had been going around saying that marijuana was less addictive or something like that.

Isn't there a reason why it's called a "gateway drug"?

Jesse himself had long since delved into the world of methamphetamine, which could be called a full-fledged drug, after starting with marijuana.

'Marijuana... is the cause of my cough?'

But the idea that marijuana had been the cause of the illness that had plagued him for so long was something he had never even considered.

"Is this a lie?"

"Why would I lie?"

"That's... that's true."

Why would a doctor lie?

Moreover, when he thought about it, the timing seemed to match up to some extent.

He definitely didn't have any symptoms before he started the marijuana business seriously.

Moreover, his dilemma couldn't last long.

Because Soohyuk had started to lay out an enticing story.

"How difficult is the treatment?"

"What, what is it?"

How many patients can be distracted when a doctor is talking about treatment?

Jesse was no exception, and before he knew it, he was sitting up straight in front of Soohyuk.

Steve found his extreme change in attitude amusing but couldn't laugh out loud.

When he came to his senses, he too was sitting up straight in front of Soohyuk, so he couldn't help it.

As always, Soohyuk's diagnosis had a certain flow and a magnetic quality.

Once you started listening, you were bound to be drawn in.

"You need to avoid the cause."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You shouldn't be in the marijuana business."

"Aren't you a doctor? You're a cop, right?"

Not to be in the marijuana business.

Hadn't he heard this somewhere before?

It was probably from a cop.

As a result, Jesse's face turned red.

But Soohyuk wasn't particularly flustered.

"Hey, if I do this, I'll go out and call the cops, right? For the marijuana business?"

"Hey! Doctors... Doctors are supposed to protect patient information, right!"

"Drugs might be a different story."

"Th... Th..."

"So, be quiet and listen. If things go wrong, I'll go out and call the cops."

"You... You think you'll be safe even if you do that?"

Honestly, at this point, he was a bit intimidated.

It was a real gangster's threat.

It was a different kind of threat from someone just saying, "You'll die" in Korea.

Here, they might really shoot you with a gun.

"I'm not American. I'm going back to Korea."

"What...?"

But Soohyuk was able to regain his composure.

Thanks to Baruda reminding him that they would be returning to Korea soon.

"So, just get the treatment."

"Huh..."

"First, you need to quit marijuana."

"You're saying this as a doctor, not a cop, right?"

"I'm not a cop, I'm Korean."

"Ha..."

Jesse had a look on his face as if he had lost his country.

His feelings were probably similar.

He had to shut down his business.

Of course, it wasn't a completely legitimate business, but still.

In terms of feeling a loss, it was similar.

"Quit...?"

"If you don't, it will get worse. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the first step in treatment is to avoid the cause. The reason it gets worse on Fridays is because you're exposed to the cause again on that day."

"Hmm..."

He wanted to say no, but no matter how he thought about it, the symptoms did get worse when he started touching marijuana again after a break.

There was no way this Asian doctor could have planted a camera in his business.

Given how precisely Soohyuk's words matched, he had to believe him.

"Is that all for the treatment?"

"No. If you had stopped early, it would have been fine, but it's been over a year."

"That's... true."

"Moreover, it's not just exposure to marijuana..."

Soohyuk paused and waited for Baruda.

[It's certain. This guy has tried every drug. He smokes cigarettes too.]

After waiting for confirmation, Soohyuk continued.

"You smoke cigarettes and other things, right?"

"Other things...?"

Jesse seemed startled and covered his mouth belatedly.

He seemed to know the state of his oral health.

"I don't need to go into detail... But you do, right?"

"I do smoke."

"That's one of the factors that worsen the condition. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, that's why your symptoms are more severe and your X-ray looks like this."

"R... Right."

"So, other treatments are necessary. Fortunately, they're not too complicated. Ah, it's better if Professor Epps explains this part."

"Professor? Will someone else know about my marijuana?"

"Don't worry, he's a doctor too. I'm not a doctor here, so I don't have prescription rights."

"Ha..."

Jesse felt a mix of relief at finally knowing the cause of his symptoms and the awkwardness of his most important secret being revealed to the world.

Hence, his sigh was deep and deeper.

But what could he do?

The person who had been manipulating him wasn't a professor.

No, he wasn't even a doctor here.

'What is this guy...?'

What kind of person could diagnose a disease so quickly without being a doctor?

"I'll see you in a bit."

Of course, Soohyuk had no intention of answering such a trivial question.

So, he left the examination room with Steve.

Naturally, as soon as they stepped out, Steve's barrage of questions began.

"How did you suspect that? Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis? Wait... What kind of disease is that?"

From the look on his face, he had more than a few questions.

"Let's talk about it later. In front of Professor Epps."

"Ah, no... Don't do that... I'll get scolded for being ignorant again..."

"But we've taken too much time. If we get delayed..."

"Ah."

Even in the U.S., where outpatient appointments are scheduled generously, the maximum time per patient is 30 minutes.

But they had already spent over 20 minutes with Jesse.

That meant they had only about 10 minutes left.

Steve knew this was all an excuse, but it was a convincing one.

He had no choice but to go along with it.

"Alright..."

So, Steve slumped his shoulders and headed back into the room.

"Why are you so late? What happened?"

Epps asked with a bored look.

He didn't seem angry, just genuinely curious.

"The... patient's medical history had some inaccuracies."

Steve, knowing he wouldn't get a word in once the discussion started, took the initiative.

"Medical history... inaccurate?"

"Yes. There were inaccuracies in the report. It wasn't the hospital's fault, but the patient's statements were incorrect."

"Hmm... What was wrong? I saw you asking questions, not you, but Dr. Lee was leading the questioning."

But Steve's efforts were in vain.

Because of the CCTV.

While the sound wasn't audible, they could see what was happening inside.

It was meant to protect patients and medical staff but was sometimes used for surveillance.

"Yes, I'll explain, Professor."

Soohyuk, who was already prepared, stepped forward naturally.

Pushing Steve aside, leaving him with no reason or strength to resist, he just fell to the side.

"Go ahead, Dr. Lee."

Epps scratched his bald head and asked.

'Hank said... he was an amazing intern.'

There's a strange myth in the U.S. that baldness isn't embarrassing.

But that's far from the truth.

If it were, why would hair growth research be so active in the U.S.?

Anyway, Hank and Epps were very close because they were both bald.

They were even collaborating on lung cancer research.

So, Epps had heard Hank's praises ad nauseam.

In other words, he had some expectations for Soohyuk.

"Why did it take so long?"

"First, the patient's report shows..."

Soohyuk pointed to the copy of the report in Epps' hand and continued.

"All the medications for the cough that started a year ago are listed. Bronchodilators, expectorants, antihistamines, bronchodilators, steroids, and antibiotics—there's nothing they haven't tried."

"Right."

Epps had almost memorized the report while waiting.

Naturally, he wasn't impressed.

"Among these, the patient only responded to bronchodilators. Very briefly, but there was improvement when taking the medication."

"Ah, right."

It was written that way.

But it didn't draw much attention because it was only for a short time.

"But?"

"It's a bit different from typical interstitial lung disease. There was no response to steroids."

"Hmm... That's... right."

"However, the X-ray shows typical interstitial lung disease."

"Hmm."

"There's also a decrease in lung function."

"Hmm."

Epps nodded as Soohyuk spoke, organizing the information in his head.

"In summary, the patient has interstitial lung disease but only responded to bronchodilators. Even that response was incomplete, but considering that, the X-ray findings are relatively good."

"Hearing it that way, it does sound strange. Usually, they don't come this far."

"Also, the report mentions that the patient's symptoms vary over the week."

"Right. So..."

"Then, instead of typical interstitial lung disease, we can consider a type of pneumonia caused by exposure to something."

"Oh."

Indeed.

Considering all the characteristics mentioned, it was quite similar to occupational interstitial lung disease.

"But there are no coal mines nearby. The patient's nails weren't dirty with coal dust. As for asbestos... Isn't it almost phased out in the U.S. because its dangers were confirmed long ago?"

"That's true."

"Then, among the remaining possibilities... What type of pneumonia fits the patient's appearance?"

"Here, we can't see that clearly."

Epps shrugged and pointed to the CCTV.

As he said, the Jesse they saw here looked very different from the one they saw inside.

First, in black and white, it was hard to tell if he had tattoos.

"Ah, right."

"So, just let Dr. Lee explain."

"Yes. Hmm. First, the patient's hands... We can't see them here. There's a slight tremor. Considering his age, it's unusual."

"Hmm."

"And his teeth are decayed, but not from cavities. It's damage from chemical reactions."

"Drugs."

"Yes. There's a report that all drug addicts use marijuana."

"Ah..."

When Soohyuk mentioned marijuana, Epps finally nodded in understanding.

Steve, who had been slumped in a corner, had a similar reaction.

No, Steve's expression was almost one of shock.

'This... He figured it out in there? What is this guy... Is he really just a genius?'