Chapter 51

Doctor Choi Daeho - Chapter 51

Daeho tilted his head instead and asked Nurse Hwang Semi.

"Isn't it like that around here?"

"The nights in Korea are safe, unlike Washington."

"Oh, right. This is Korea."

Daeho nodded to himself as if he finally understood and continued giving first aid.

But the patient seemed to have caught part of their conversation. He frowned through the pain and asked,

"Ugh... Why did Washington suddenly... ugh... come up?"

"I lived there for a while."

"Were you a doctor there too? What, are you saying you're from Johns Hopkins or something... Argh!"

The patient suddenly mentioned Johns Hopkins.

Since it was one of the most famous hospitals in the world, even ordinary people knew the name.

Daeho answered indifferently.

"Yes. That's where I came from."

"What? Aagh!"

The patient stared at him in surprise, only to cry out from another burst of pain.

Still focused on treating him, Daeho asked,

"Then how did you get injured like this in such a safe country?"

"We were fooling around at a playground... Ugh!"

As the patient breathed out, Daeho caught the unmistakable smell of alcohol.

"Ahem, ahem."

The guardian's face turned red with embarrassment, and he looked away.

Meanwhile, the last missing piece of the puzzle behind the accident finally fell into place for Daeho.

Frankly, it was ridiculous.

"Didn't anyone teach you not to play around on a playground after drinking?"

"It just reminded us of the old days, so..."

"Sounds like you need to go back to kindergarten."

"Do you really have to say it like that... Aagh!"

The patient, who had been pouting, suddenly screamed when another wave of pain struck him.

Although his gaze toward Daeho was full of resentment, he didn't argue anymore.

That change had happened immediately after hearing which hospital Daeho had come from.

In fact, Daeho had deliberately mentioned it.

That way, he won't resist.

It was purely to make the emergency treatment proceed more smoothly.

And it worked perfectly.

Before long, Daeho slowly finished arranging the sutures and spoke.

"Nurse Hwang. Um, that... tetanus..."

"Tetanus."

"Right, that. I'm worried about tetanus, so please administer antitetanic treatment."

"Yes."

The moment Nurse Hwang Semi answered, Daeho stood up from his seat and addressed the patient.

"The emergency treatment is finished. We'll check you again in a couple of hours, and if there aren't any other problems, you'll be discharged. Then, excuse me."

Daeho briefly explained what would happen next and left.

The patient looked dumbfounded.

"What do you mean it's over already... Huh?"

"Whoa. What is this? When did he finish everything?"

The guardian was just as surprised.

The patient's arm was already wrapped neatly in clean bandages.

On top of that, he could barely feel any pain.

If it weren't for the bloodstains on his clothes, he might have thought nothing had happened at all.

Deep admiration appeared on the patient's face.

"Wow... So this is why people keep talking about Johns Hopkins?"

"He really finished it cleanly. And that speed was insane. Someone trained overseas really is different."

His friend looked over the treatment as well, going beyond simple admiration and practically praising Daeho.

Meanwhile, Daeho was already moving farther away from the patient.

Normally, this would have been the point where he returned to the nurses' station.

But today, Daeho was clearly different.

Step. Step.

He headed toward Bed 6 in Zone 1.

Kang Jinsu was examining a patient there.

"Khup... Haa... Haa... Ugh..."

The patient was a middle-aged man in his fifties or older.

The area from his trapezius muscles up to his neck was abnormally swollen, and he was clearly in pain.

More noticeably, his face was badly swollen, and his breathing was abnormal.

Daeho quietly stopped behind Kang Jinsu and assessed the patient.

"..."

Kang Jinsu, however, was so tense that he didn't even notice Daeho had approached.

The patient's condition was changing rapidly, throwing his mind into chaos.

"Mr. Kim Jeongsu. Why did your breathing suddenly..."

"Haa... Doc... haa..."

The patient's breathing produced a strong wheezing sound and was growing faster by the second.

His complexion was also becoming whiter.

No, paler.

But Kang Jinsu had already lost his composure, narrowing his field of vision.

"What do I... Over there... I should call Dr. Park..."

Unable to identify the cause, he hurriedly tried to turn around and look for Park Jingyu.

That was when Daeho's calm voice sounded behind him.

"Bee bite."

"What?"

"He was stung by a bee. It's an anaphylactic shock."

"Oh? I-Is that so?"

Kang Jinsu stopped awkwardly.

At that moment, Daeho's eyes turned cold.

"'Is that so?' Is that really what you should be saying to me right now?"

"What? Ah... Anaphylaxis means... uh, epinephrine. Right?"

"What?"

Daeho glared at him.

Kang Jinsu immediately avoided his fierce gaze and muttered,

"Ahem. Does anyone have epinephrine..."

"Here."

Nurse Hwang Semi handed him a syringe at exactly the right moment.

Considering the timing, it should have been impossible for her to already have it ready.

But there was a reason.

Daeho had already asked Nurse Hwang Semi to prepare it.

Once again, Daeho secretly winked at her behind Kang Jinsu's back.

Good timing.

I'm pretty good, aren't I?

Nurse Hwang Semi puffed out her chest proudly and raised her chin toward the ceiling.

In that brief moment, Kang Jinsu added the epinephrine to the IV.

"I-I administered it. Next..."

"What are you doing? You think giving him one drug is enough?"

Daeho practically growled.

A chill ran down Kang Jinsu's spine at the sound of his voice.

"Uh... Um... So..."

He needed to think.

But the overwhelming pressure caused his mind to freeze completely.

...

Perhaps three seconds passed.

Unable to wait any longer, Daeho's cold voice rang out.

"Dr. Kang. Why aren't you answering?"

"No, I know it, but..."

"You know it, but what?!"

Daeho's powerful voice slammed into Kang Jinsu's ears.

For a moment, Kang Jinsu felt the strength leave both of his legs.

"Ghk!"

He barely managed to tense his body enough to keep himself from collapsing.

But his legs were trembling.

Th-That's... I mean...

He had definitely learned it.

He knew the answer.

And yet his mind refused to bring it up.

He hated himself for freezing in place like this.

Then Daeho whispered coldly into Kang Jinsu's ear.

"That's all."

"What?"

"Epinephrine administration. If he still doesn't improve, then we add antihistamines and steroids. But right now, that one injection is the emergency treatment."

"Ah!"

It was as if something blocking Kang Jinsu's mind had suddenly shattered.

That was completely correct.

Now he finally remembered it clearly.

Just as Kang Jinsu began feeling grateful to Daeho for helping him realize the answer, Daeho's voice became even colder.

"But... performing a medical procedure without confidence is the same as feeding poison to a patient. Isn't it?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then you just fed poison to your patient."

Daeho's comparison was brutally direct.

Kang Jinsu couldn't possibly accept it without protest.

His voice trembling uncontrollably, he tried to argue.

"N-No, that's..."

"No? Then were you truly certain when you administered the epinephrine?"

"...No."

"You're a resident, so you're here to learn? Don't give me that crap. Patients aren't practice targets for you."

Kang Jinsu's shoulders flinched at Daeho's blunt words.

"Th-That's..."

"You complain that nobody teaches you, but are you even prepared to learn?"

"..."

"Start by filling that empty head of yours."

There wasn't the slightest hint of kindness in Daeho's advice.

It was sharp and vicious, like the tip of a blade pressed against Kang Jinsu's throat.

"..."

Kang Jinsu felt so overwhelmed that he was almost struggling to breathe himself.

That was when an urgent voice rang out from Zone 3.

"Senior Richard!"

It was Seo Juran.

Apparently, she had encountered an emergency patient with symptoms she couldn't handle.

Daeho's eyes immediately lit up.

"Wouldn't that be a better place for you to be?"

With those final words, Daeho shot toward Zone 3 like lightning.

Only then was Kang Jinsu finally released from the crushing pressure.

"Haa... Haa..."

Today...

No, at this very moment, he realized it once again.

Daeho was a predator.

A beast of emergency medicine so flawless that Kang Jinsu couldn't even bring himself to argue with him.

While Kang Jinsu tried to catch his breath...

"Hoo... Hoo..."

"Hoooo... Hnn..."

Another sound of breathing overlapped with his own.

Kang Jinsu's gaze instinctively lowered.

"Hm?"

It was the patient's breathing.

"Haa... Haa..."

His breathing was stabilizing.

His expression had also improved significantly, and the severe swelling was beginning to go down.

"..."

"Th-Thank you... for saving me..."

The patient's weak murmur reached him.

His unfocused eyes slowly turned toward Kang Jinsu.

"..."

Kang Jinsu couldn't move.

It wasn't me.

I don't deserve those words.

But he couldn't bring himself to tell the patient that.

He simply stood there in silence.

Daeho entered Zone 3 almost instantly.

Where's Dr. Seo?

She was at Bed 10 on the far side.

"Just hold on. He'll be here soon. Please, just hold on a little longer!"

Seo Juran was desperately pleading with the patient.

Daeho immediately rushed toward her.

On the way, he noticed the guardian standing beside the bed.

She appeared to be a woman in her early thirties.

What caught Daeho's attention wasn't her appearance.

It was her clothes.

She was wearing a fluttery dress covered in large floral patterns.

At this hour of the night?

The conspicuous outfit somehow felt out of place.

Putting that question aside for now, Daeho arrived beside Seo Juran.

"What's going on?"

"Hyeri, he's here! The senior I told you about is here!"

Seo Juran hurriedly shouted toward the patient.

Naturally, Daeho's gaze moved toward her as well.

The patient was another woman who appeared to be around the same age as her guardian.

But the moment Daeho saw her, his expression quickly hardened.

"..."

"Uh... Uhh..."

The patient's ability to speak was severely impaired.

Her pupils also wandered restlessly from side to side as if they had lost all sense of direction.

Several of those symptoms reminded Daeho of someone.

Apparently, Seo Juran had thought the same thing.

"Aren't these symptoms the same as Patient Lee Yeongrae's case?"

"Are you talking about cerebral infarction?"

"Yes. Look at her. A lot of the symptoms match. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and perform the procedure. Quickly!"

Seo Juran aggressively urged Daeho to act.

But Daeho's reaction was a little strange.