Chapter 40

Chapter 40

At a university hospital outpatient department, the emergency room would have filtered these patients first.

There was no emergency room here.

And there was no other doctor who could take over.

Pyo Jinwoo calculated quickly.

The number of scheduled patients.

The number waiting.

The maximum number he could realistically see in one day.

"We won't accept anyone beyond today's scheduled patients. Tell new patients to come next week. Among existing patients, only add those who currently have symptoms."

"Um, Doctor."

Choi Yuri leaned closer and whispered cautiously.

"There's a woman in early pregnancy who's bleeding, and the patient at the back says her baby hasn't moved since last night."

Pyo Jinwoo frowned.

"Give me the list of symptomatic patients first."

"Yes!"

Lee Seyoung joined in.

"The director has a system for days like this."

Pyo Jinwoo looked at her.

"Regardless of registration order, pregnant patients and anyone with bleeding or pain go first. Everyone else gets a waiting number and comes back when their turn is close."

Pyo Jinwoo thought briefly.

"Let's do that."

If someone deteriorated while waiting in line, it could become serious.

Emergencies did not avoid a clinic simply because it was small.

***

The list reached him quickly.

Pyo Jinwoo called in the pregnant woman with bleeding first.

"How many weeks pregnant are you?"

"Seven."

"How much bleeding?"

"Enough to wet a panty liner. My stomach doesn't hurt."

Pyo Jinwoo took the ultrasound probe.

The gestational sac appeared on the screen.

The heartbeat was present.

A small dark area beside the sac showed a little pooled blood.

"The baby's heartbeat is strong."

He continued,

"There's a small amount of blood collected next to the gestational sac. It isn't uncommon at this stage."

The patient looked worried.

"Since we've confirmed the heartbeat, things look okay. Rest, and come back immediately if the bleeding increases or if you develop abdominal pain."

The woman left looking relieved.

The next patient said she had not felt fetal movement since the previous night.

She was thirty-two weeks pregnant.

Pyo Jinwoo first placed the Doppler on her abdomen.

The heartbeat appeared immediately.

Regular.

"Have you been moving around a lot recently, or staying in one position for a long time?"

"I sat working all day yesterday."

"Then it may simply be related to your position. Lie on your left side for thirty minutes."

He pointed to a sofa at the side of the examination room.

The woman lay down.

About ten minutes later, she smiled and said she could feel the baby kicking again.

Only after checking the fetal heart rate once more did Pyo Jinwoo send her home.

Neither patient had actually been in danger.

But even confirming that took time.

Meanwhile, the line outside continued to grow.

***

Lunchtime.

Choi Yuri finally had a moment to breathe when a call from Im Gain came through to the front desk.

"Yuri, everything okay?"

"The locum doctor is really fast. Like, three minutes per patient?"

Yuri continued,

"He doesn't misdiagnose anything. He looks once and immediately figures it out, but there's almost no conversation."

"Really?"

"You were in the newspaper, remember? We got a ridiculous number of patients today."

"Yes. Seyoung called me earlier."

Yuri lowered her voice.

"There was a thirty-four-week pregnant patient earlier who wanted to ask about back pain, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything before leaving."

Gain listened quietly.

"Eventually, she came back to me at the desk. I showed her some positions and explained how to use pillows."

Yuri continued,

"There was also a postpartum patient worried about a lump in her breast. She ended up asking Nurse Seyoung afterward too."

Gain could picture it perfectly.

A pregnant woman leaving the examination room while swallowing the question she really wanted to ask.

Only managing to speak once she reached the front desk.

That was common at university hospitals.

It was rare at this clinic.

"I'll write a guide about positions that help with back pain during pregnancy and ways to reduce the pain. Print it and keep copies in the waiting room."

"Oh. Director, that's cool."

"For now, print it normally. Later, we'll make proper pamphlets."

Gain laughed.

"Anything else I can help with?"

"Yes. Please make one about recovery after miscarriage too."

"All right."

Then Gain remembered something.

"Also, a patient I agreed to accept through a conference referral is supposed to come today. Please make sure she's seen even if things are busy. I heard her condition isn't great."

"Yes! I'll tell them."

The short lunch break ended.

Choi Yuri carried Gain's freshly printed guide to Pyo Jinwoo.

"Doctor, Director Im called and sent us this information. On days like today when it's hard to explain everything, she said we can give patients these sheets."

"Thank you."

Pyo Jinwoo raised an eyebrow as he accepted the guide.

"This will be useful."

"And there's one more patient who arrived just now. She's someone Director Im had already been told about."

The pregnant woman had come without an appointment, carrying a referral from another hospital.

"It's addressed directly to Director Im, so I think you should see her first."

Pyo Jinwoo accepted the envelope and unfolded the referral.

The sending clinic was an OB-GYN in the neighboring city.

Twenty-six weeks pregnant.

Her blood pressure readings were listed by date.

138/88 mmHg.

150/95 mmHg.

Then 140/90 mmHg.

The numbers fluctuated frequently.

Fortunately, her urine protein was still negative.

At the bottom of the referral letter was a handwritten note.

[She's a good person. Please take good care of her.]

Pyo Jinwoo read the referral once more.

Gain's instructions said new patients were supposed to wait until she returned.

But those blood-pressure readings bothered him.

"According to the rules, new patients should wait until next week... but I'll see you myself."

The woman looked startled.

"The director isn't here? I brought a referral for the female director."

"She's in Seoul."

"Oh... I don't have much time."

The woman shifted anxiously.

Lee Seyoung smiled.

"Since you've already come all this way, please get checked before you leave."

Her gentle tone finally convinced the woman to nod.

"Blood pressure is 142 over 88."

Lee Seyoung reported the result.

Pyo Jinwoo clicked his tongue.

"Borderline again today."

He looked at the patient.

"Come twice a week for blood pressure and urine testing. Measure your blood pressure at home every morning and evening and write it down."

"W-What happens if it gets worse?"

"If it gets worse, you'll need to go to a larger hospital. We'll discuss that if it happens."

The woman froze, unable to say anything.

As she left the examination room, Lee Seyoung stopped her.

"Ma'am, please take this."

She handed the woman a sheet of paper.

It was something Director Im had instructed them to prepare over the phone.

"If you get a severe headache, see flashing lights, feel pain in the upper abdomen, suddenly develop swelling in your face or hands, or notice reduced fetal movement, call us immediately."

Seyoung continued gently.

"Day or night. Waiting is the most dangerous thing."

"And if it's something we can't safely manage here, we'll send you straight to a large hospital. We're connected with Hanguk University Hospital, so don't worry too much."

Only then did the woman's expression relax.

"Thank you."

After she left, Lee Seyoung paused for a moment outside the examination-room door.

That evening, Gain called the clinic again from her training-center lodging.

Lee Seyoung answered.

"Doctor. There are really so many people."

"That busy?"

"Everyone from the surrounding area saw the newspaper and came to us."

Seyoung added,

"Director, remember the preeclampsia patient you specifically handed over before leaving?"

"Ms. Jeong Inhwa?"

"Yes. She called this morning saying she had a severe headache, so we told her to come in."

Seyoung's voice grew serious.

"Her blood pressure was 160 over 105. Her urine protein was 3+, so we told her to go to Hanguk University Hospital."

"Good. You handled it correctly. But?"

"She refuses to go."

Gain's expression hardened.

"Dr. Pyo explained all the numbers and told her twice. But she keeps saying she feels fine and wants to wait until you come back."

Seyoung sighed.

"The second time, Dr. Pyo stopped explaining and told us to contact you instead."

"She wants to speak with me?"

"Yes. She actually came earlier today asking for you, then came back again this evening."

Gain nodded.

"Give me her phone number. I'll call her myself."

"No, I can connect you right now. She's sitting in the waiting room."

"Then put her on."

There was a rustling sound.

Then Gain heard a faint groan and trembling breathing from the other side.

Gain spoke softly.

"Ma'am, it's Gain."

"...Doctor."

The patient's voice broke immediately.

It sounded as though everything she had been holding back suddenly burst loose.

"You were scared and overwhelmed, weren't you? It must've been worse because I wasn't there with you."

"Yes... I'm really scared. But I honestly feel okay."

"I know."

Gain's voice remained warm.

"The baby is moving well, your headache has eased a little, and you want to believe that means everything is okay."

The woman sniffled.

"But preeclampsia can get worse in the test results while you still feel relatively fine. Then it can suddenly deteriorate all at once."

Gain continued,

"Your blood pressure and urine results are right at that dangerous point."

"Then... am I really in serious danger?"

Fear filled the woman's voice.

Gain gently reassured her.

"No. If you go now, today, nothing has to happen."

She continued firmly.

"Dr. Pyo caught it at exactly the right time. I would have sent you to the hospital too."

"If you're saying that..."

"I'm sorry I can't go there myself right now."

Gain softened her tone again.

"If you go to the hospital tonight, I'll contact you as soon as I return in three days. Until then, please let them take care of you."

Silence.

Then came another sniffle.

"...Okay. I'll go."

The moment Gain heard the answer, warmth spread through her chest.

The patient on the other end had truly made up her mind.

The distance between Seoul and Somang City did not matter at all.

Just as Mal-seon Grandma's prayer seemed to have reached her in the operating room.

***

Pyo Jinwoo stepped out of the examination room just in time to see the pregnant woman from earlier finish a call at the front desk and leave.

Her expression had softened.

There were faint tear marks around her eyes.

Did she speak with Director Im?

He had repeated himself twice earlier trying to persuade her.

That alone had been unusual for him.

And today was especially busy.

There were too many patients.

Too many tasks.

He had explained the numbers.

Why they were dangerous.

When she needed to go.

He had explained everything in order.

He had not been wrong.

But I couldn't persuade her.

Pyo Jinwoo reviewed the case while organizing the chart.

He had not heard what Gain said to the woman.

His brow furrowed.

He could not understand what had been different.

After thinking for a while, Pyo Jinwoo returned to the examination room and opened the next chart.

There were still more than ten patients waiting.

***

After the call ended, Gain lowered her phone onto her lap.

Then she checked the clock.

She would return in three days.

There was no telling what else might happen before then.

"I hope nothing else happens."

***

At the same time, in Director Seo Pilju's office, the Somang Daily lay open across his desk.

Seo Pilju was reading the article for the third time.

"'Is the Famous Mom-Café Doctor Just Hype?'"

Despite the headline, the article praised her from beginning to end.

A doctor who answered calls even at dawn.

A doctor who warmed the stethoscope before placing it on a patient's skin.

A consultation room where the doctor listened to the patient's entire story without once checking the clock.

Seo Pilju's finger stopped on the photograph of the line stretching through the alley.

"Tsk."

The article was not praising the clinic.

It was praising the clinic's director.

That was bad.

When a single doctor became famous enough, patients flocked specifically to that person.

Far fewer of them would spill over into nearby hospitals.

Knock, knock.

His manager entered after knocking.

"Director, we're still searching for a location in Somang City. You're not in a huge hurry, are you?"

Seo Pilju folded the newspaper and tucked it under his arm.

"Hurry."

"How much?"

"Finish the lease this week."

The manager's expression stiffened.

"That's rather tight."

Seo Pilju stood.

"Then make it work anyway. Go there today and start looking immediately."

He continued,

"Ideally, I want the place ready to open within a month. A former clinic location would be best."