Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Pyo Jinwoo awkwardly cleared his throat and brought his hands together in front of him.

For the first time, the usually confident man looked genuinely clumsy.

"Yes. That's correct."

Gain finally burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha."

Only after laughing did she relax a little.

She had thought him almost intimidatingly impressive.

Now he finally seemed human.

Even while smiling, Gain was already calculating expenses in her head.

If I add one more doctor, the payroll...

In 2007, a salaried OB-GYN specialist who also covered delivery duty would need to be paid at least nine million won a month.

"What salary are you expecting? I can't pay you very much right now. Around nine million won a month."

Pyo Jinwoo paused.

"That's fine."

Considering his experience, she really should have paid him more.

At least twice that amount.

But once national insurance, benefits, and severance were included, even a nine-million-won salary would create more than 130 million won in annual fixed costs.

Saetbyeol had signed her employment contract only last week.

Construction costs were still being paid.

At a salary of nine million won, Pyo Jinwoo would need to generate at least fifteen million won in additional monthly outpatient revenue.

If he handles all the patients waiting in line and the backlog of appointments, revenue should be enough.

And once they began deliveries, she absolutely needed another doctor for on-call coverage.

Stamina was not the issue.

As long as divine power supported her, Gain could stay awake through nights for years.

The problem was that she only had one body.

If two deliveries overlapped, or if an emergency came in at night while she was already beside another mother, she needed a second doctor.

That was a wall even divine power could not overcome.

Saetbyeol said she'd cover delivery duty, but...

There were also conferences and training courses.

If Gain had to leave the clinic for several days and a pregnant patient suddenly went into labor, divine power would be useless during those days.

She physically would not be there.

I needed a third doctor anyway.

And that third doctor was already standing in front of her.

The problem was timing.

Before delivery revenue started coming in, she would need to survive several months of paying three doctors' salaries.

During that period, the clinic might operate at a pure loss.

Gain roughly calculated the size of the deficit.

Patient volume has increased enough now.

Once she finished calculating, it looked survivable.

Gain made up her mind.

Finding another doctor this skilled later may actually be harder.

"I'll explain the conditions first. We haven't started deliveries yet. Until then, your work will mainly be outpatient care."

"Naturally. You're still preparing the facilities."

"I can't match a university-hospital salary. We'll recalculate on-call pay once deliveries begin."

"Understood."

"And our clinic is small. Being a doctor here doesn't mean only seeing patients. Everyone helps with whatever needs doing."

"I prefer that."

Pyo Jinwoo nodded.

His voice had already returned to its usual calm tone.

Gain asked carefully,

"One thing. With your experience, you should have plenty of places willing to hire you. Why this clinic?"

Pyo Jinwoo was silent for a moment.

He brought his hands forward again.

This time, he did not avoid her gaze.

"This is the first hospital I've ever worked at where every single staff member follows sterile technique and proper hand-washing procedure without exception."

Ah. That's because Jo Eunjae catches everyone and scolds them whenever they don't.

Gain was momentarily speechless.

"Come to think of it..."

Pyo Jinwoo took a notebook from his coat pocket.

"I heard Professor Oh Seongmin recommended me when this position was introduced."

Gain's hand, which had been reaching forward, stopped.

"I should thank him, but I've never met him personally. If you know him, would you pass along my thanks?"

Gain slowly withdrew her hand.

"Professor Oh Seongmin?"

Her pupils trembled.

"Yes. I was told he was from Hanguk University."

Gain looked at Pyo Jinwoo again.

He seemed completely innocent.

As if he had simply accepted a locum assignment passed through the association.

Professor Oh Seongmin recommended him?

It was common for doctors to recommend locum work through professional associations.

But Oh Seongmin normally avoided troublesome favors like that.

He only did things that benefited himself.

"Dr. Pyo, I also need to discuss this with Dr. Kim Saetbyeol, who's joining us soon, and I have to rebuild the financial plan around three doctors."

Gain spoke carefully.

"Could you give me one week? I also need to prepare another examination room."

"Understood. I'll see you again in one week."

Pyo Jinwoo bowed.

Then he picked up his unsealed paper box and left the examination room.

Gain stared at the closed door.

Why would Professor Oh Seongmin introduce someone this good to me?

It made no sense.

***

Time passed quickly.

A few days later, Gain received a call from her lawyer.

"The sentencing is out."

The lawyer continued,

"Song Yeonggon received eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The other two each received a five-million-won fine."

"There probably won't be an appeal. Their attorney knows better than anyone that fighting it further won't help them."

"Thank you for your work."

Gain ended the call.

Looking out the window, she saw that the rice shop's shutter was gone.

A new side-dish shop was installing its sign in the space.

That matter was over.

Gain picked up the next document.

She decided to hire Pyo Jinwoo.

The nurse interviews were also complete, and the successful and unsuccessful applicants had all been notified.

That Thursday afternoon, a woman nine weeks pregnant entered while leaning on her husband.

She said she had been unable to keep down even a sip of water for three days.

Her lips were cracked.

A urine test showed strong ketones.

Her body had been forced to burn fat because she had no food left to use as fuel.

"We'll start with IV fluids. Lie down and rest. You should gradually feel better."

While Lee Seyoung inserted the IV, Gain touched the patient's wrist and checked her pulse.

It would take hours for the fluid to circulate and restore enough strength.

Until then, the woman would continue dry-heaving.

Gain allowed only one drop of divine power to flow.

Just enough to calm her violently upset stomach.

The woman's retching stopped.

Her breathing became regular.

"Oh... I feel like I can survive now."

"That's good. You can sleep until the IV finishes."

One drop disappeared from the cup.

The amount was too small to regret.

***

Myeongwon Girls' High School.

During lunchtime, Jeong Eunwoo headed toward the school store.

She had already eaten lunch, but she was hungry again.

Near the end of lunch break, she unexpectedly ran into school nurse Chae Seunghui at the store.

"Teacher!"

It had been a while.

Since receiving treatment from Director Im at Hyundai OB-GYN Clinic, Eunwoo had no reason to visit the nurse's office anymore.

"Have you been well?"

Eunwoo greeted her happily.

...?

As she bowed, she caught a faint smell.

Blood.

The school nurse also looked unusually pale.

Could it be?

During her last visit to Hyundai OB-GYN Clinic, Eunwoo had met an older woman in the rest area.

That woman's complexion had looked very similar.

She had said she became dizzy every period because she bled so heavily.

She had visited countless hospitals but never found proper treatment and had only been given iron supplements.

Then she came here and finally got better.

Holding a sausage bun in her hand, Chae Seunghui smiled.

"Our student council president must be feeling much better these days. You don't even visit the nurse's office anymore."

Eunwoo laughed.

"I'm totally better."

Then she lifted two rolls of kimbap.

"Teacher, I bought two rolls. My next period is self-study. Want to eat together in the nurse's office?"

The nurse raised her eyebrows slightly, looking surprised.

"We're technically not supposed to eat in the nurse's office, but..."

"Exception today, right? I'll keep it secret!"

Eunwoo was bright and cheerful.

She had always been especially close to the school nurse.

Now she felt a little guilty for not even coming by to say hello after getting better.

The two walked to the nurse's office.

After closing the door, they began eating kimbap.

Only then did Eunwoo finally explain what diagnosis she had received at Hyundai OB-GYN Clinic and what had happened.

"Imperforate hymen?"

Chae Seunghui looked shocked.

"So you weren't missing your periods at all."

She had only vaguely heard earlier that Eunwoo had been told she might have cancer and then learned she did not.

"Yes, Teacher. I should've come and explained earlier. I'm sorry."

"No, no. You were busy with student council work. As long as I knew you were healthy, that was enough."

"Director Im at Hyundai OB-GYN is seriously amazing. And she's incredibly kind too."

Jeong Eunwoo emphasized it several times.

Chae Seunghui chuckled.

"Yunji said the same thing. Apparently that doctor also treated her grandmother."

And Sujin, Hyewon, Huijae, Ayeong... and several girls from the class too.

"Right? I went with Yunji."

After finishing lunch, Eunwoo left.

She looked light and cheerful now, with no shadow left on her face.

Chae Seunghui looked into the mirror.

A pale woman stared back at her.

Exhausted.

Worn down.

She was only thirty-one, yet she looked forty.

If another teacher or student had come in looking this pale, she would have immediately told them to go to a hospital.

It's because of the heavy periods.

Every morning, she took iron supplements on an empty stomach with orange juice.

On days when the iron upset her stomach too badly, she took it before bed.

Because tannins interfered with iron absorption, she stopped drinking coffee and green tea.

She stopped drinking the milk she loved.

She deliberately ate blood-sausage soup, cockles, oysters, spinach, black beans, black sesame seeds, and egg yolks.

Even when the smell made them difficult to swallow, she forced herself to eat.

But no matter how many foods supposedly helped make blood, the amount she lost every month never decreased.

Whenever her period came, she became dizzy.

Sometimes she simply collapsed.

She had visited many hospitals.

She had tried every medication they gave her.

Hemostatic drugs taken only during menstruation.

Anti-inflammatory painkillers.

Birth-control pills.

Hormonal cycle therapy.

The medicine would work a little.

Then the moment side effects forced her to stop, the heavy bleeding immediately returned.

"How long do I have to keep taking this?"

No doctor ever gave a satisfying answer.

Seunghui had been a nurse.

She had known from the beginning that these medicines were only controlling symptoms because nobody had found the cause.

Years passed.

Eventually, one hospital made a new suggestion.

"You've already tried everything medicine can do."

The doctor continued,

"The endometrium looks thick. We need a tissue sample anyway, so let's put you under anesthesia and clean out the uterine lining. That may reduce the bleeding too."

At the time, the words you've tried everything sounded almost comforting.

Seunghui agreed.

The dilation and curettage was a disaster.

She nearly died from massive hemorrhage during the procedure.

They told her she had received five units of blood.

She lay in recovery while the anesthesia had not fully worn off.

Her entire body felt as though it had been torn apart.

When she became slightly more conscious, the doctor came to see her.

"Your uterus is shaped a little unusually, so there was some bleeding. We'll observe you from here."

Seunghui could barely open her eyes.

Even then, she knew the explanation made no sense.

A slightly unusual uterine shape should not have caused that degree of hemorrhage.

And if her uterus had been unusually shaped, the doctor should have known during ultrasound before the procedure.

He was inventing excuses after the fact.

But she had no strength to argue.

To object, she would have needed to sit up.

Speak.

Present evidence.

She was simply too exhausted.

Seunghui did nothing more.

She left the hospital.

Rested at home.

Then returned to work.

The next month, when her period came again, the bleeding was even heavier than before.

She knew she should return to the hospital and confront them.

But she had no strength.

One month passed.

Then two.

She never even requested her medical records.

She did not seek care elsewhere.

To be honest, she was ashamed in front of her students.

She always told them,

"Don't let an illness get worse. Go to the hospital."

But she herself no longer wanted to enter one.

She felt wronged.

Sad.

Angry.

It felt as though the people she had believed were on her side had betrayed her.

Meanwhile, her body continued getting worse.

After transferring schools and being assigned to Somang City, she simply endured with antispasmodics from a pharmacy.

She never wanted to visit a hospital again.

She endured like that for over ten years.

"Director Im at Hyundai OB-GYN is really good."

It was not only Eunwoo saying that.

Everyone did.

Seunghui had thought about it.

Should I go?

Would a female doctor be different?

But anxiety remained somewhere in her heart.

The better people said the doctor was, the more Seunghui worried she might aggressively try to perform another procedure.

On the way home from work, Seunghui walked from the intersection in front of the school toward the market.

She planned to buy something for a late-night meal.

Then she noticed a building under construction.

[Walk-in Same-Day Appointments]

[Ten-Minute Waiting Time]

[Seohwa Women's Hospital]

Drilling echoed from inside.

Seunghui stood there staring blankly.

A huge banner displayed Director Seo Pilju's face.

It was familiar.

A memory flashed back with such force that it felt like déjà vu.

"Your uterus is unusually shaped, hmm. It wasn't really our fault."

Her heart began racing.

A chill ran down her spine.

It was him.

The doctor who had recommended the procedure and later insisted he bore no responsibility.

It seemed he was expanding into Somang City.

You've got to be kidding me...

She felt sick.

Disgusted.

Even the small amount of courage she had gathered to visit Hyundai OB-GYN disappeared.

Doctors are all the same.

That doctor will be the same too.

Chae Seunghui took another step.

It was the second day of her period.

The day her bleeding was always heaviest.

She was walking while sipping a liquid iron supplement mixed with orange juice from a tumbler.

She became dizzy.

"Huh?"

She felt blood suddenly rush out of her body.

Not this.

I can't get that feeling.

She hurriedly looked around for something to hold.

Otherwise, she was going to fall.