Chapter 8, Section 2: I Am a Kindergartener (3)

"Wow, I almost died. Even now, just thinking about it makes my spine shiver."

Choi Jin-hee, sitting in the kindergarten administrative office, shivered as she spoke.

Seung-woo, who was clutching his chest and writhing in pain.

Seung-woo, whose face was turning blue.

Even now, recalling her own helplessness, she felt dizzy.

If the young life, which had not even properly taken root, had died at the kindergarten, she might have lived with guilt for the rest of her life.

"Thanks to you, Teacher Choi, Seung-woo survived. When I patted his back, the jelly didn't come out..."

"..."

"When Teacher Choi pushed up Seung-woo's stomach, the jelly popped out, right?"

"I'm not that great. I just did what Eun-jin told me to do..."

Choi Jin-hee scratched the back of her head, feeling embarrassed.

Even if she had been Eun-jin, she wouldn't have been able to do anything but pat Seung-woo's back.

In that sense, the real hero who saved Seung-woo was Eun-jin.

If Eun-jin hadn't stepped in at the right moment and taught the Heimlich maneuver, what would have happened?

Or, if Eun-jin hadn't come to the kindergarten at all?

Just imagining it made her hair stand on end and gave her goosebumps.

"From her appearance, she seemed smart, but I didn't expect her mother to be a nurse and remember emergency procedures."

"Come to think of it, wasn't it Eun-jin who told us that Seung-woo had a jelly stuck in his throat?"

"Yes, that's right. It seems like God sent Eun-jin to our kindergarten to save Seung-woo."

Although she didn't believe in God, Choi Jin-hee nodded as if agreeing with Eun-jin's faith.

Reflecting on it again, there was something fateful about Seung-woo's survival.

"Teacher Lee, have you contacted Seung-woo's parents?"

"Oh, I completely forgot. Seung-woo's parents need to know he was sick. I'll call them right away."

Choi Jin-hee turned her gaze away from Eun-jin, who was hurriedly picking up the phone.

Leaning back in her chair and looking up at the white ceiling, Eun-jin's face came to mind.

In the midst of the teacher's panic, she was the only one who remained calm.

Unlike her peers, she spoke clearly and confidently.

Even though her mother was a nurse, it was rare for a child to see an emergency procedure once and accurately tell an adult what to do.

Eun-jin was truly a trustworthy child.

Already, Choi Jin-hee was looking forward to Eun-jin's future.

* * *

The kindergarten, which had been in chaos due to Seung-woo's choking, had returned to its usual quiet.

Seung-woo, accompanied by one teacher, had not come out of the nap room. It seemed he was receiving intensive mental care.

'Phew. It was a close call.'

Recalling the moment when Seung-woo was choking, I sighed in relief again.

It was a truly critical moment.

If the Heimlich maneuver had been delayed even a little, Seung-woo would have opened his eyes in the afterlife, not this world.

Seung-woo survived by a hair, but I felt a bit bitter.

I felt the limitations of saving someone with a kindergartener's body and without a medical license.

If I had been an adult and a doctor, there would have been no obstacles in treating Seung-woo.

The treatment would have been much faster.

Still, I can give high marks for the quick thinking that convinced the kindergarten teacher to perform the Heimlich maneuver...

Looking at the nap room where Seung-woo was, I soon moved to the window.

Although I didn't perform the treatment myself, the Heimlich maneuver was successful.

It was because the kindergarten teacher followed my instructions well.

'Really, I was so foolish.'

A complicated smile appeared on my face as I recalled my past life.

In my past life, I was a narrow-minded surgical assistant.

First assistant, second assistant, third assistant.

I even didn't trust the perfusionist and the scrub nurse. I doubted their skills and doubted them again.

I had the delusion that the protagonist in the operating room was only me.

As a result, compared to other surgical assistants, my surgery time was delayed by at least 30 minutes and sometimes up to an hour.

How foolish was that?

The protagonist in the operating room is the entire surgical staff.

In my past, I didn't realize that my surgeries could be faster the more I trusted my colleagues.

Just as I entrusted the Heimlich maneuver to the kindergarten teacher.

In the future, when I perform surgeries, I will trust my staff completely.

Now I know the power of trust and who to trust.

"Eun-jin, your dad is here."

Hearing the teacher's words, I grabbed my bag and ran to the entrance. I hugged my father, who opened his arms wide.

"Dad!"

"Is our Eun-jin okay?"

"Yes!"

"Mr. Eun-jin's father, is it true that Eun-jin's mother is a nurse?"

The teacher, who followed me, asked my father directly.

"Yes, that's true. Why do you ask?"

"Something incredible happened today."

The teacher excitedly told the story of Seung-woo's choking incident.

She even gave me a thumbs up, saying that Seung-woo survived thanks to my advice. My father's smile reached his ears, and I felt proud.

"Our Eun-jin did something on the first day of kindergarten?"

"Hehe. Did I do well?"

"Of course, you did. Eun-jin will grow up to be a great doctor."

Holding my father's hand, I left the kindergarten.

A place I had never visited in my past life.

Seung-woo, who might have died from choking in my past life.

My life, my surroundings, and this world were gradually, but surely, changing.

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of the typewriter was rhythmic and cheerful. It was ASMR that could only be heard in this era.

After going to the bathroom and returning to the bookstore, I saw my father sitting at the counter, writing a novel on a typewriter.

My father ran the used bookstore and wrote novels in his spare time.

The work he was writing now was an unfinished masterpiece from my past life.

The novel he sent to the New Year's Literary Contest recently, which was rejected, was a revised version of his first work.

But in this life, where I was reborn, this novel would not remain an unfinished masterpiece.

Just as I would no longer be exploited by Kang Tae-sub, my father's writing would definitely see the light of day.

I would make it happen.

"Dad."

"What is it?"

"I want to read that book."

I approached the counter and pointed to a section of the bookshelf. The medical textbooks I had a tantrum to buy when I was one year old were neatly arranged.

Familiar and welcome books.

"Are you trying to read those difficult books again?"

My father clicked his tongue in amazement.

I had been reading medical books in my spare time for a few days.

Although I could speak well and had a wider range of activities, there was nothing I could actively do.

So, I thought it would be meaningful to revive the knowledge I had forgotten.

Looking back, reading the books in advance was a stroke of genius.

Today, during the Seung-woo choking incident, I clearly said:

I learned the Heimlich maneuver from my mother, who is a nurse.

But it was a blatant lie, so it would be exposed as soon as my mother came home.

So, if my mother questioned me when she came home, I planned to say that I learned the Heimlich maneuver from the medical books.

I had to say that my mother, a nurse, taught me the Heimlich maneuver.

I had to lie because the teacher believed me.

My lie was a white lie that saved a person.

So, my mother wouldn't scold me.

Thanks to being reborn as a one-year-old, I had become a slippery eel.

"That's just the basics. Can you even understand it? You should read those books when you grow up."

My reverie was broken by my father's words.

"Still, I want to read it. I'm bored."

As I kept whining, my father finally handed me the book.

Stacking a pile of books my father had moved to the chair, I started reading.

'As expected, the readability is top-notch.'

Opening the book, I shivered and felt a chill. Like the books of this era, it was a right-to-left, top-to-bottom format.

Similar to a Joseon-era memorial, the style required reading from right to left and top to bottom.

Not only was it a right-to-left format, but the book was also filled with Chinese characters. Just flipping through the pages made my eyes and head hurt.

Medical terms were also slightly different from those in the 21st century.

From the 21st century, the Koreanization of medical terms began. For example, "parietal lobe" was changed to "head lobe."

Although English was most commonly used in the field.

I naturally started with the thoracic surgery section.

Thoracic surgery procedures also reflected the times.

Endoscopic surgery, which began to become popular when I was an associate professor, was just starting to take its first steps.

There was no mention of ECMO, which gained attention as a treatment for MERS and was used for heart failure and lung transplants.

The same went for the da Vinci robot surgery.

I was the only one who knew how thoracic surgery procedures had evolved and flourished.

So, I had the opportunity to surpass any thoracic surgery assistant in the future.

A golden opportunity!

I would use this opportunity to protect my family's happiness, showcase my abilities, and save the lives of patients who had died in vain.

Perhaps the reason I was reborn was for this very purpose.

"Eun-jin, just read a fairy tale. Don't strain your brain with such difficult books."

Unable to bear it, my father gave me a piece of advice.

He seemed to feel sorry for me, seeing me flip through the pages of a book I couldn't understand.

But my father didn't know that I was flipping through the book not because I didn't understand it, but because I already knew the content.

"It's fine. Even the pictures are interesting. There are bones and organs."

"You really are something."

My father chuckled at my answer and returned to his novel.

Meanwhile, I quickly read through the thoracic surgery section and took out a book I had read in advance.

This book was not a medical textbook.

The Art of War.

I chose The Art of War to avoid repeating the mistakes of my past life.

A doctor is someone who treats diseases.

A hospital is a place where people who treat diseases gather.

In the past, I had such a simple and foolish mindset.

But as I gained experience and wisdom, my illusions shattered.

The power struggle between people.

The clash of money, power, and life.

Living in a hospital was no different from living on a battlefield.

To survive in the hospital, which is a battlefield, one needed the art of dealing with people and the art of war.

With only the one-dimensional desire to save patients, one would only taste frustration.

Like my past self.

-It is not the highest excellence to win a hundred battles out of a hundred. The highest excellence is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

-Therefore, the best strategy is to break the enemy's will to fight, the next is to disrupt their alliances, and the next is to attack their army.

The phrases from the "Deception" chapter resonated with me.

When you fight with others, don't you end up losing as well?

If you can find a clever way to subdue others without fighting, your medical career will be smooth sailing.

Ding!

The doorbell rang like an uninvited guest, breaking the silence of the bookstore.

"Excuse me, I came to buy a book."

A man entered the bookstore.

"What book are you looking for?"

My father, who was absorbed in writing his novel, got up to greet the customer.

"Is there a copy of 'Human Market'? I want to read the first volume."

"The first volume of 'Human Market'? Let me see. I think I bought one a week ago."

My father started searching the bookshelf, which took a while because used bookstores often don't categorize their books well.

"Dad, I put that book under the counter last time."

"Oh, right. Here it is."

With my help, my father sold the book. The customer left the bookstore with a satisfied look.

"Our Eun-jin, when did you see me put the book there?"

"Hehe, I always watch you, Dad."

"You really are something."

Just as my father was impressed with me,

Ding!

The doorbell rang again.

This time, a family of three came to the bookstore.

One of them had a very familiar face.