Chapter 11
Then Kwon Taeseong bent forward at the waist.
A full ninety-degree bow.
"In my line of work, I often deal with medical lawsuits. I've seen many cases where treatment was delayed because doctors tried to avoid responsibility during emergencies like this. You weren't even working at the hospital, yet you made the decision immediately despite the risk that the patient's condition could worsen. Thank you."
"...!"
It was completely unexpected.
"This is my business card. I'm Kwon Taeseong, Presiding Judge at the Seoul Central District Court. As a judge, I can't personally give you legal advice, but if something happens, please contact me. I can at least help you find the right person. I have plenty of junior lawyers."
"I understand."
A legal expert.
Gain knew plenty of doctors, but she didn't know anyone in the legal profession.
Im Gain smiled faintly.
"Thank you. Hopefully I'll never have a reason to call you."
"Haha! That's right. The best situation is one where you never need to ask a legal professional anything. But someone like you, a true Good Samaritan, may eventually need someone like me."
He emphasized several times that even if his position prevented him from helping her directly, he could introduce her to one of his junior lawyers.
Then he bowed deeply again and left.
The door closed.
After the short meeting with Kwon Taeseong ended, Im Gain finally relaxed.
So he wasn't a troublesome guardian after all.
Kwon Taeseong was actually closer to an overly serious model student.
Even from their brief conversation, Gain could tell how deeply he cared for his wife.
He wasn't like the people who became terrified that a loved one might die and turned that fear into anger toward the medical staff.
I'm glad she's got a good guardian.
That was exactly what a woman lying in the ICU needed.
A sensible, reliable, and considerate husband.
I hope that tiny grain of divine power helped her.
That night.
Looking outside at the flashing neon signs that kept the street from ever becoming completely dark, Im Gain clasped both hands together and lowered her head toward the Goddess of the other world.
It was only a short, informal prayer.
Even though she knew the Goddess didn't exist here, the habit remained.
"All right. Should I have fried chicken tonight?"
Gain licked her lips and picked up her phone.
Then she called a chicken restaurant.
"Half fried, half seasoned, please. Extra pickled radish. And a one-point-five-liter Coke."
How long had she wanted to say those words again?
After the war in the other world finally ended and peace returned, one of the first things Gain tried to do was recreate Korean fried chicken.
I couldn't even try making kimchi because there was no napa cabbage.
There weren't even chili peppers.
So kimchi had been impossible from the start.
But chicken seemed possible.
That world had chickens.
It had wheat.
So Gain had tried to make fried chicken.
To be honest, back in Korea, she'd done nothing but work at the hospital.
Whenever she wanted chicken, she ordered delivery.
She had never made it herself and didn't know the science behind it.
Still...
You coat chicken in flour and fry it. Isn't that basically fried chicken?
She tried many different methods.
Every single one failed.
No matter how expensive the oil was or how carefully she coated the chicken in wheat flour, the result was always soggy fried chicken.
The princess's chef suggested trying different powders for the coating.
After a lot of trial and error, soybean flour made the chicken somewhat crispier.
But then it smelled unpleasantly beany.
Even so, everyone in that world had praised it as delicious.
But it had been nothing like this.
This is the taste of Korea.
The savory smell filled the room before she even opened the delivery box.
The coating was crispy.
The meat inside was soft and juicy, with just the right chew.
Maybe the secret was the small pocket of air between the crust and the meat.
The others would've loved this.
One familiar face after another came to mind.
Longing rose inside her like spring water.
She was still eating when the building suddenly went dark.
Apparently, the power had gone out.
Gain didn't care.
She kept eating chicken.
Even in the darkness, it was still delicious.
I really have changed.
Sitting alone in the dark, Im Gain let out a dry laugh.
In the past, she would've panicked and searched the entire house for candles.
But after living in a medieval fantasy world where even candles could be difficult to obtain, something like this didn't bother her at all.
Besides, the lights outside were bright enough that the room wasn't completely dark.
Vrooom.
The sound of an old motorcycle engine came from far away.
Then came the noisy voices of people shouting and laughing.
It was nothing like the sound of wild insects in the countryside.
Gain simply sat there and continued chewing.
This was peaceful South Korea.
There was no assassin silently approaching from behind her.
Instead of searching for light, she calmly finished all her chicken in the darkness.
She could see surprisingly well anyway.
Good. Tomorrow is staff interview day.
I hope I find someone I can work well with.
Meanwhile, in an operating room at Hanguk University Hospital.
Department Head Kang Juhan had just finished a scheduled C-section and was leaving the operating room when he overheard the nurses whispering.
"Wasn't Dr. Kang ridiculously late?"
"If Dr. Im hadn't come, that patient would've died. I heard Dr. Kang said he got delayed by a minor accident after the conference, but actually he was standing in line to buy some limited-edition fruit cake and almost got the patient killed. You know, the woman who's in the ICU now."
Kang Juhan raised an eyebrow.
He had already heard about the judge's wife, the VIP patient.
But why was 'Dr. Im' being mentioned?
That insolent resident who had talked back to the professors and submitted her resignation.
The little brat who thought good grades gave her the right to challenge them.
He had assumed she would never return to this operating room.
Did she lower her head and try to come crawling back?
Yeonhui University Hospital.
Goguryeo University Hospital.
