Chapter 47, Part 5: I Am a Medical Student (2)

The gray sky was pouring down a drizzling winter rain.

Residents of the apartment complex, preparing to go to work, were hurrying along with their umbrellas.

Standing at the entrance of the apartment building, I gazed up at the sky with a blank expression.

Even after the regression, I still vividly remembered today's weather and my emotions.

I thought it was particularly depressing that it was raining on the day of the orientation.

But this rain was not just a depressing one.

It was a harbinger of the ominous accidents that would occur later today, both in the afternoon and at night.

‘I’m different now than I was back then.’

I decided not to fear the impending events.

I resolved not to worry or feel anxious.

Fear is an emotion that arises when one cannot control a situation, and as a doctor, fear was an emotion I had to overcome.

I opened my umbrella wide and walked boldly into the rain.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

The sound of the raindrops hitting the umbrella was rhythmic and cheerful.

I left the apartment complex and took the subway to Shinwon University campus.

I arrived at 8:40 AM.

In the Dalrae Hall, where the medical lecture hall was located, the fresh-faced new medical students were already waiting for the orientation to begin.

These were the classmates I would meet for the first time after the regression.

Some of them I didn’t remember the faces or names of, even after the regression.

But there were also those whose faces filled me with immediate warmth.

However, the memories I alone possessed were both sweet and bittersweet.

‘Let me take a closer look.’

I stood in the first-floor lobby of Dalrae Hall and carefully scanned the faces of the classmates I would spend the next six years with.

The first person I wanted to get close to, the one I most wanted to befriend, soon caught my eye.

Shin Cheol-woo.

A tall, lanky figure with glasses, he had a somewhat fussy appearance.

In my previous life, I wasn’t particularly close to Shin Cheol-woo.

To be honest, I didn’t have many close friends, regardless of whether it was Shin Cheol-woo or not.

In my previous life, I lacked social skills.

I couldn’t make proper friends because I was too busy tutoring to earn tuition, and I couldn’t blend in well with my friends.

But I had no intention of spending this life as a loner.

Thanks to my family’s financial stability, I didn’t need to tutor anymore.

Improving my medical skills.

Finding a partner to work with in the future.

During the two years of pre-med, I would likely be focused on these two tasks.

“Are you Lee Min-seok?”

Just as I was about to approach Shin Cheol-woo, someone called out to me.

A student with a well-groomed appearance, like a protagonist from a romantic manga, was named Lee Min-ho.

His father was an executive at a large corporation, and his mother was a high-ranking civil servant. Lee Min-ho was a well-known golden boy.

As Lee Min-ho approached me, the attention of the surrounding classmates shifted to me.

A person who always drew attention, wherever he went, had a presence that stood out.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“You were the top student overall, so I’ve been keeping an eye on you since the opening ceremony. You seem like a pretty decent friend.”

Lee Min-ho evaluated me as if I were a product, then blatantly scanned me up and down.

Through Lee Min-ho’s interest in me, I realized that my karma had changed.

In my previous life, Lee Min-ho had never given me a second glance.

Lee Min-ho was a person tightly bound by a sense of superiority and elitism, and over time, students whose parents were judges, lawyers, and doctors would gather around him.

In the future, my classmates would refer to Lee Min-ho and his friends as the "Royal Family."

A nickname that was half admiration and half disdain.

So, by being the top student overall, I had the opportunity to join this Royal Family.

Should I consider this an honor?

“Why don’t you hang out with my friends from now on?”

Lee Min-ho pointed towards the entrance of the lecture hall, as if he were doing me a huge favor.

They were friends he had known for a long time, from wealthy families.

“...”

I hesitated for a moment.

There were many benefits to joining the Royal Family.

Since Lee Min-ho’s uncle was the deputy director of the Shinwon University Hospital, my life in the hospital would be much easier.

In fact, classmates who were close to Lee Min-ho often advanced faster than others.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’d like to be alone for now.”

“If you hang out with me, you’ll have a lot of opportunities... I don’t understand why you’d make such a foolish choice.”

Lee Min-ho frowned, clearly displeased.

“Opportunities don’t come twice. Think about it carefully.”

“Even if I think about it twice or three times, I don’t think it will change much.”

“I must have misjudged you. For a top student, you’re pretty dumb. Forget it.”

Lee Min-ho turned on his heel and returned to his group.

He was the same childish elite player, whether in my previous life or now.

After all, someone who had been pampered and spoiled since childhood wouldn’t have a mature mental age.

Age and maturity often didn’t align.

Like Lee Min-ho.

In any case, by rejecting Lee Min-ho’s offer, I anticipated that I would have conflicts with him in the future.

Lee Min-ho was the type who would try to crush anyone he didn’t like or who had crossed him.

But I didn’t regret my choice.

Joining Lee Min-ho’s group, flattering him, and advancing in the hospital was not my goal.

My goal was to save the patients I couldn’t save before.

To restore the relationships with the colleagues I had lost.

To become a thoracic surgeon that I could hold my head high with.

So, from the beginning, I was destined not to be with someone like Lee Min-ho, who only cared about advancement.

Even if Lee Min-ho’s family background was excellent.

Even if Lee Min-ho was outstanding.

I had a weapon that Lee Min-ho didn’t have.

I could see as clearly as the lines on my palm what Lee Min-ho would think and do in the future.

Lee Min-ho would definitely be the one to regret messing with me.

* * *

The grand orientation began in the lecture hall.

Following the introduction by the department representative, the introductions of the professors, the history of the medical school, the introductions of the student council and the student union, and the explanations of the course registration procedures continued.

Since I already knew all of this, I only half-listened.

Instead, I was thinking about how to prevent the disaster that would occur a few hours later.

I was the only one who knew the disaster was coming, so I felt incredibly lonely.

After the orientation in the lecture hall, the freshmen rushed to the buses.

I felt a sharp gaze and turned around to see Lee Min-ho glaring at me.

Now that I looked at him, he wasn’t just childish; he was also petty.

On the other hand, I had been keeping an eye on Shin Cheol-woo and took a seat next to him.

Shin Cheol-woo looked at me with interest.

“The top student sitting next to me? I’m honored.”

“Just remember that. Next time, you could have warmed the seat for me, you know?”

Shin Cheol-woo laughed at my joke.

We sat side by side and introduced ourselves briefly.

There was a reason I chose Shin Cheol-woo over Lee Min-ho.

Shin Cheol-woo was known among classmates for his four-dimensional personality, but he was very efficient in his work.

Because of this, even seniors couldn’t treat him casually, and juniors couldn’t ignore him.

More importantly, Shin Cheol-woo would later become a renowned neurosurgeon.

In cases where T.A. (trauma) patients or emergency trauma patients were transferred, thoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons often worked together, and Shin Cheol-woo could be a great help to me.

While there are no unimportant organs in the human body, if I had to pick two core organs, they would be the brain and the heart.

If I handled the patient’s heart and Shin Cheol-woo handled the patient’s brain, there would be no patient we couldn’t save.

“Build a close relationship with Shin Cheol-woo and keep him by my side when he leaves Shinwon University Hospital for some reason.”

I was very pleased with the blueprint I had drawn.

By piecing together these puzzle pieces, I would eventually form a dream surgical team.

“Earlier, it looked like you were arguing with Lee Min-ho?”

“Well, it wasn’t really an argument. I just didn’t join his group, so he seems to be in a bad mood.”

“Shouldn’t you join? It looks like there’s a lot to gain.”

Shin Cheol-woo’s way of speaking was indeed unique.

The idea of “tearing into” Lee Min-ho was also quite distinctive.

“Do you want me to recommend you?”

“I’ll pass. My stomach is weak, so I can’t flatter people.”

Shin Cheol-woo shook his head.

“I felt the same way, so I refused.”

“Really? But from what I see, you don’t seem ordinary either.”

“In what way?”

“The brain is an organ that likes to play, did you know? Why? Because the brain, which only makes up 2% of our body weight, uses 25% of the energy in our body. So, using the brain is a difficult task.”

“...”

“You got a perfect score on the college entrance exam and became the top student overall by using such a lazy organ?”

“...”

“So, you must be abnormal.”

I was taken aback by Shin Cheol-woo’s confident tone.

Did he really have to bring in the brain to make me seem abnormal?

The four-dimensional personality of Shin Cheol-woo, which I had only heard about in rumors in my previous life, was even more shocking in person.

To the point where I almost regretted choosing Shin Cheol-woo over Lee Min-ho.

“Maybe ‘persistence’ is a more fitting term than ‘abnormality’?”

“You don’t need to be hurt by the term ‘abnormal.’ After all, emotions are also generated in the brain, specifically in the limbic system, which is called the mammalian brain.”

“...”

“So, emotions are a kind of chemical and neural reaction.”

I let Shin Cheol-woo’s excited rambling continue.

I realized that the communication skills I had honed through regression were useless in front of Shin Cheol-woo.

Three-dimensional communication skills couldn’t handle four-dimensional communication skills.

Fortunately, Shin Cheol-woo’s brain lecture ended after 30 minutes.

The bus started moving, and Shin Cheol-woo began to suffer from severe motion sickness.

“Mr. Brain Scientist, what do you think about motion sickness?”

“Ah, I don’t know.”

When I teased him, Shin Cheol-woo shook his head with a pained expression.

His suffering made me laugh even more.

Relaxed by my conversation with Shin Cheol-woo, I looked out the window at the passing scenery.

Time passed, and the tour bus entered the highway.

The rain that had been falling since the morning was still heavy.

‘It’s about time...’

I turned my head slightly and repeatedly clenched and unclenched my fists.

Soon, the bus would pass the scene of a traffic accident.

A car had skidded on the wet road and crashed into another car, causing the accident.

In my previous life, the bus had stopped on the shoulder near the accident site, and the thoracic surgery clinical professor, Yang Soon-jae, and a few students had rushed out to provide emergency care.

However, despite their efforts, all the patients had died.

The reason was simple.

Yang Professor was the only one who could provide emergency care.

The freshmen on the bus were still inexperienced medical students and couldn’t follow Yang Soon-jae’s treatment and instructions.

But in this life, I, a former thoracic surgeon, was on the bus.

If I took action, I could buy enough time until the 119 emergency services arrived.

Then, the traffic accident victims wouldn’t die in vain.

“Hey, did you see that? There was a traffic accident.”

“I saw it. The car was completely crushed.”

“Should we report it?”

The students who witnessed the accident began to murmur.

I couldn’t see the accident scene directly as I was on the opposite side.

But I sensed that the moment I had been waiting for had arrived, and I sharpened my dulled senses.

It was time for me to take action.

“A few of you, follow me. We can’t ignore patients, even during the orientation.”

The white-haired professor Yang Soon-jae, who had retired from the field, stood up and quieted the students.

He also asked the bus driver to pull over to the shoulder.

The tour bus finally stopped.

The air inside the bus, which had been as if doused with cold water, was now silent.

The classmates, frightened by the unexpected situation, looked at each other’s faces.

There was no time to waste.

I was the first to follow Yang Soon-jae off the bus.

For the patients I had been waiting for, the patients who had been waiting for me.