Chapter 140: Convergence Medicine Center (1)

The Convergence Medicine Center was established by Taehwa Group to facilitate research collaboration with experts from various fields. More precisely, it served as a liaison between different subsidiaries within Taehwa Group. Project Baruda had also been developed through this center.

“You’re going straight there like this?” Taejin Jo asked Shin Hyun-tae, who immediately started searching his phone as soon as the topic came up.

Although the Convergence Medicine Center operated within the hospital, its actual affiliation lay with Taehwa Bio despite being physically located on the hospital premises. Naturally, one couldn’t simply approach them with just an idea.

“Oh… Uh… Is that not enough?”

Having experienced unsuccessful visits to the Convergence Medicine Center himself, Shin Hyun-tae immediately understood Taejin’s point.

“They have become quite picky lately,” Hong Changgi chimed in with his agreement. “It is almost impossible to secure any collaboration within our group unless it’s something extraordinary.”

Indeed, there had been hardly any recent collaborations between Taehwa Electronics or Bio and the Convergence Medicine Center. The center had become so selective that people started questioning their reluctance to work with other companies under the same umbrella.

It’s not that they’ve become picky…

Shin Hyun-tae shook his head slightly as he glanced at Suhyuk.

Their attitude changed due to Baruda’s failure…

Project Baruda aimed to develop the world’s best artificial intelligence for diagnostic purposes.

At that time, Taehwa Medical Center was overwhelmingly leading domestically, and Taehwa Electronics was ambitious. As a result, nearly 100 billion won was invested, including domestic and international marketing expenses. In the end, most of this amount went towards suppressing news about the explosion incident.

In any case, Baruda became such a dark history that it threatened the existence of the Convergence Medicine Center, causing them to adopt a highly conservative approach now.

“I will create some materials first.”

Amidst everyone’s skepticism, Suhyuk, who could be considered the root cause of this situation, opened his mouth.

[“Damn brats. If I made it, wouldn’t it have succeeded?”]

As they listened to Baruda grumbling,

“Oh, really? You want to give it a try?” Shin Hyun-tae responded with noticeable enthusiasm.

In response to Suhyuk’s words, Shin Hyun-tae’s face noticeably brightened. He had been present at almost all of Suhyuk’s previous presentations, so he was well aware of how skilled Suhyuk was in creating and delivering presentations.

“Yes. I will create it.”

“Can you do it within a week?”

However, Hyun-tae had never witnessed Suhyuk crafting something on the spot like Lee Hyunjong did earlier. If he knew that the NEJM article originated from this very room, he wouldn’t have mentioned a deadline of one week. Nonetheless, Suhyuk wasn’t offended by Shin Hyun-tae’s request. After all, people often find others strange based on their own perceptions, but perhaps they should question themselves first. In reality, even a week would be quite tight considering his usual workload.

Life as a resident at a university hospital was not easy.

“No sir. It will take about an hour.”

“Uh, okay. Work…huh?”

“It only requires one hour.”

“One hour? Suhyuk, the Convergence Medicine Center is no joke…”

“I’ll give it my best shot. Can you make your decision after seeing the results?”

Suhyuk’s eyes exuded confidence when he met Shin Hyun-tae’s gaze. Those who didn’t know Suhyuk well often assumed him to be arrogant. However, those who had worked closely with him realized that Suhyuk wasn’t someone who flaunted his abilities; it just seemed that way due to his exceptional talent. At least, this was Shin Hyun-tae’s perspective, having grown quite fond of Suhyuk, bordering on admiration.

‘For Suhyuk to assert himself like this…’

It wasn’t simply due to overconfidence. Objectively speaking, Suhyuk believed he could accomplish this task within the given time frame.

“Yes. Then let’s give it a try. Everyone, can you spare an hour?” After making his decision, Shin Hyun-tae nodded and sat back down.

As a manager, he had paperwork to handle, so he planned to complete some tasks during this period.

“Sure, I just need to attend rounds.”

Taejin Jo also had no doubts about Suhyuk’s abilities or Sungkyung’s potential. His only concern was that Lee Hyunjong’s meeting might end around the same time.

‘If hyung-nim arrives too, it will be chaos.’

They hoped to finish preparing the materials before the meeting concluded. With that, Taejin swiftly left the room.

In contrast, Hong Changgi felt somewhat bewildered by the situation.

‘What…? Create presentation materials within an hour?’

If he heard such a claim from another resident alone, he would have dismissed it outright. Even though he was known for his meticulousness, he typically spent at least a week preparing for presentations. To suggest creating material for a presentation at the prestigious Convergence Medicine Center in just one hour seemed unrealistic.

‘But why did they believe him?’

What puzzled Dr. Hong further were the reactions of Shin Hyun-tae and Taejin Jo. Although Shin Hyun-tae had a reputation as a man of integrity, he wasn’t someone who overlooked wrongdoing lightly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have constantly clashed with Professor Seo Hyoseok over ethical issues.

‘And Taejin Jo…?’

Although age and his experience abroad had mellowed him considerably, during their residency days, Taejin Jo earned the nickname “Devil” for a reason. Moreover, that era tolerated some degree of physical discipline among residents.

During his residency, Taejin Jo had been rightfully nicknamed “the devil.” Back then, corporal punishment was somewhat tolerated within the medical community. There was even a saying that a resident who knew how to discreetly discipline others made for a good doctor.

In this regard, Taejin Jo was considered one of the best residents ever.

Yet, hearing about Seo Hyoseok’s condition, he seemed unconcerned.

Does he truly believe it…?

Hong Changgi inadvertently turned towards Suhyuk, who had just booted up his laptop and started working diligently. As Changgi raised an eyebrow, Shin Hyun-tae caught him staring.

“Hey, if you’re skeptical, sit out. Less people mean higher scores anyway.”

“Huh? N-no, I’m not skeptical at all.”

“Then trust us. Even Suhyuk believes it.”

“Uh…yes.” Flustered, Hong Changgi nodded despite still harboring doubts.

I still had my doubts, so I decided to observe them for now. Making excuses was not difficult since I possessed enough cunning as a professor.

“Um… Can I check our patient charts here? It’s challenging to leave and return within an hour.”

“Huh? Without seeing their faces?”

“I’ve already seen them earlier. Just need to confirm the test results.”

“Oh? Alright then.”

Hong Changgi wasn’t a regular troublemaker at Taehwa Medical Center after all. Strangely, most professors in the Internal Medicine department were quite friendly, with Seo Hyoseok being the exception. No professor received complaints from patients unless they deserved it.

‘Except for Seo Hyoseok.’

As Shin Hyun-tae thought about this, his anger flared again, and he shook his head vigorously.

As he looked down at the paperwork again, there was Seo Hyoseok’s name once more.

Am I losing my mind?

At first, he thought it might be his dislike for Seo causing hallucinations, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an actual request form submitted by Seo Hyoseok. It seemed odd that this man would need supplies, considering they’re typically required only for active research or treatment purposes—neither of which applied to him.

What…? He wants to purchase… Hmm.

The items themselves weren’t particularly unusual: a microscope, reagents, and slides. While not essential for patient care, microscopes are crucial for research. However, it was strange that Seo Hyoseok had made this request.

“Oh, Professor Seo.” Shin Hyun-tae decided to give him a call.

He wanted to confirm if these items were indeed needed for research as stated on the form.

As far as Shin Hyun-tae knew, it had been ten years since Professor Seo Hyoseok authored his last research paper on his own merit. Actually, there was no way to tell if those papers were truly written by him or if he used his influence to claim credit for others’ work.

“Hmm? Yes, Manager Shin?”

“I’m talking about this purchase request you submitted. The microscope.”

“Oh, yes. I need it.”

“Well…and all you wrote is that you just ‘need it’?”

“Isn’t that how we usually acquire materials for research?”

Seo Hyoseok sounded quite confident. Shin Hyun-tae suspected it stemmed from his ignorance.

“Well…that’s only applicable when you have your own allocated research funds, which you don’t, Professor Seo.”

In reality, researchers who received individual funding didn’t need to provide detailed explanations for purchases made with their allotted budget. After all, it was money assigned specifically to them.

The approval process was mainly to prevent misuse of these funds. However, accessing shared departmental research funds required an even more stringent procedure.

“Are you dismissing me just because I don’t have personal research funds?”

“It’s not about dismissing you; it’s simply stating that you don’t have any such funds, Professor Seo.”

“Hah.” Seo Hyoseok let out a quiet sigh.

For someone at his age and position as a professor at Taehwa Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals, having no research funds was virtually unheard of. Naturally, this inferiority complex made him touchy on the subject, so Suhyuk’s comment struck a nerve. Of course, if he were a decent person, he would’ve reflected on himself before getting upset.

“So…you won’t buy it for me?”

“No, I never said that.”

“But didn’t you just imply it?”

“No, no. If there is a valid reason, I will buy it for you. In any case, once purchased, other professors can also use the microscope.”

“Then why not just buy it?”

“Well…it’s quite expensive.”

It seemed much more costly than the microscope used by Shin Hyun-tae. As I wasn’t familiar with the model names, I didn’t know what additional features it had. Anyway, it exceeded 5 million won. Despite being Taehwa Medical Center, the research funds provided weren’t that large, making it problematic to spend such a significant amount freely.

‘With this money? We need to organize departmental development meetings and attend team-building retreats… That means…’

Using these precious funds on Seo Hyoseok, of all people? For Suhyuk, even if he was tightfisted, I would still add extra allowances. But spending it on this guy? Absolutely not.

“Ah… So that’s why you can’t?”

“No, tell me your reason.”

“It is for research.”

“What research?”

“Well…something about diabetes.”

“Diabetes? What research on diabetes? You haven’t even submitted a research proposal yet?”

It was natural to overlook the actions of someone liked while being strict with those disliked. Moreover, his mood was already sour due to his older brother and his associates today.

In any case, Seo Hyoseok had picked the wrong time to approach him.

“Ah… That… Just let it go.”

“Nope. Give it back.”

“Sigh… I need it.”

Seo Hyoseok ended the call abruptly with those words.

“Look at this bastard! Hanging up on a manager? Ha…na…this son of a bitch.” Shin Hyun-tae was so furious that he glared at his phone and even resorted to cursing, which was highly unusual for someone known for their integrity.

However, Hong Changgi couldn’t focus on Hyun-tae’s outburst; his attention was solely fixed on Suhyuk’s laptop screen.

‘This…it might not take more than an hour…?’