Chapter 4: A Genius? (1)

“Already wanting to be assigned as his primary physician?”

Department Head Shin Hyun-tae of Internal Medicine looked down at Suhyuk with evident discomfort.

Since waking up, Suhyuk had demonstrated remarkably fast recovery. It had been almost five days since he was moved to a general hospital room, and it was about time to consider discharging him.

• The tests show no abnormalities.
• Although something was lodged in his head, monitoring should suffice.

Both neurology and neurosurgery departments provided similar opinions. However, immediately returning him to work seemed somewhat risky.

How many books has this crazy bastard read during his stay…?

Shin Hyun-tae’s gaze naturally shifted to the pile of books next to Suhyuk’s bed. There were internal medicine textbooks, case compilations published over the last four years by the Internal Medicine classroom, and various papers. The sheer number of textbooks alone was overwhelming, not to mention the case compilations from Taehwa Medical Center, which were practically considered textbooks themselves.

It seemed as if Suhyuk had dedicated every waking moment outside of eating and sleeping to reading these materials. Was it normal for someone who had nearly died to exhibit such behavior? Neither the director nor Manager Shin thought so.

“Listen to him on anything he wants. If he starts acting too eccentric, though, we’re done, got it?”

Lee Hyunjong, the director of the hospital and someone Manager Shin respected as his senior from Internal Medicine, had previously told him:

After recalling these words, Manager Shin looked at Suhyuk again. It was difficult for Suhyuk to meet Manager Shin’s gaze.

“We need experience. Suhyuk knows nothing.”

Now Baruda required more than just studying.

‘Okay, I understand, so please be quiet.’

“I won’t get through to you unless I’m persistent.”

‘Agh…’

Suhyuk shook his head slightly before speaking up.

“Yes, Dr. Choi. I want to return to work immediately.”

“You can take some more time off.”

“No, I’m fine.” As Suhyuk spoke, he started hopping on one foot despite not being able to use his left leg at all. However, using his right foot and cane, it was possible for him to walk without much difficulty.

‘I think he is saying this because he might be mentally unstable…’

However, there was no telling what Suhyuk would do if he refused here. He might even post about being confined in the hospital on social media.

‘No, that can’t happen… Let me keep an eye on him, so nothing goes wrong.’

Thus, Manager Shin tried to erase his displeasure from his face and nodded reluctantly.

“Fine, then let’s start with rounds this afternoon.”

“Ah, thank you. I will prepare immediately.”

“No, no. Don’t rush. We can see him this afternoon.”

“Yes, Dr. Choi. Thank you.”

“Alright, see you later.”

Suhyuk bowed his head, and Shin Hyun-tae quickly left the hospital room as if fleeing from it.

As he did so, the director who had been hiding in the hallway approached like a rat. Normally, he appeared cool, but now, he seemed annoying.

“What happened? Did you talk about compensation? Did you mention the fundraising? This time, I gave 30 million won. Really.”

Perhaps it would have been better to discuss money with Suhyuk. Then there wouldn’t be any concerns about whether he was crazy or not.

Thinking these thoughts, Shin Hyun-tae turned back towards the director while shaking his head.

He shook his head vigorously.

“Nope. He urgently asked for a doctor.”

“He… wants to work?”

“Yes.”

“That guy is really crazy. Didn’t you tell him? We can give up to three months of sick leave.”

“I did, but he still acted like this. Haven’t you seen him yet? Something is truly strange. It’s scary.” Shin Hyun-tae shuddered as he looked around the hospital room.

Director Lee Hyunjong had never seen Manager Shin act like this before, and he tried even harder to hide himself further.

“What are you doing?”

“You called him crazy. I have a long time left in my term as director.”

“Is that all you care about? It seems like we need to assign a doctor and let him work.”

“You take charge! If there is an accident with another professor, will you be responsible?”

“Haah…” A deep sigh escaped from Shin Hyun-tae’s mouth.

“Haaaah…” Suhyuk also let out a similar sigh.

[Your oxygen saturation is normal. Your breathing is sufficient.]

‘It’s because I’m depressed! Depressed!’

Initially, when Manager Shin mentioned the three-month sick leave, I felt genuinely happy. It might seem strange to feel this way after injuring my leg, but anyone who has completed their internship would understand. The first year as a doctor was even more challenging than being an intern. So naturally, the prospect of having three months off brought me joy.

[Is it that unjust for a doctor to treat patients?]

Of course, Baruda had a completely different perspective.

‘D-Don’t talk like that.’

[Then rejoice.]

‘Why are you using command words for emotions…?’

[Hrmm. I will keep this in mind.]

‘What does “Hrmm” mean?’

[I am expressing surprise at learning something new from Suhyuk.]

‘The detailed explanation makes me even angrier.’

Suhyuk shook his head and glanced at the clock.

‘It’s 2 PM. Three hours left.’

The afternoon rounds for Internal Medicine usually occurred around 5 PM. On days when there were outpatient clinics with professors, it could be later. However, according to Suhyuk’s knowledge, the new manager’s outpatient clinic was not on Fridays.

[What are you doing?] Baruda asked as he saw Suhyuk getting up.

Suhyuk responded while roughly putting on his doctor’s gown.

‘I need to prepare for rounds. I decided to do it, so I should do it properly.’

[Hrmm.]

‘Could you please stop saying that?’

[Your emotions are too intense. Your current opinion will not be considered.]

‘Seriously, this bastard…’

Despite using formal language, Baruda still managed to infuriate Suhyuk. It was quite surprising.

Continuing his sigh from earlier, Suhyuk walked down the hallway towards the nursing station. Along the way, he noticed two tall figures hastily hiding in a corner but decided to ignore them. Just dealing with Baruda’s nagging was challenging enough.

Tap-tap.

Tap.

Moreover, it was difficult using a cane for someone who had never used one before.

‘Fortunately, with full exemption of hospital fees… and even provided single accommodation.’

In addition, whether through the director’s influence or not, Suhyuk received almost 100 million won as compensation from his alumni association. It might not be much to others, but it was a significant help to Suhyuk, who had no family left.

‘Hmm.’

Suhyuk sat down at the computer station and started reviewing patients admitted under Shin Hyun-tae.

‘Twelve people. Quite a number.’

As expected for a manager, there were two residents assigned besides Suhyuk. Four second-year residents and eight first-year residents each handled multiple patients.

[I recommend Park Ki-tae and Kim Jinchul.]

While examining the patient list, Baruda suddenly spoke up.

‘Why?’

[The rest have already been diagnosed, and their treatments are ongoing. They will not provide adequate practice.]

‘I need to practice treatment as well?’

[I acknowledge your understanding of suitable subjects. Then I recommend patients Yiyuan Li and Bujeong Sun.]

‘Why these people?’

[They will be discharged tomorrow.]

‘This guy doesn’t know moderation. Well, I have to understand them all. How can I decide who to take on without knowing them?’

Suhyuk carefully read through the admission records, progress notes, and test results of the patients. There was no need for him to memorize everything since Baruda stored the data meticulously. This could be considered one advantage of having Baruda.

‘Other than that…’

He automatically vowed to extract Baruda once he found a way. If Professor Choi Nokphil, the neurosurgeon, hadn’t warned him with ‘If you remove it now, you might die,’ Suhyuk would have attempted another surgery immediately.

“Ah, you arrived earlier.”

While I was looking at the computer for quite some time, Manager Shin Hyun-tae approached and greeted me. For some reason, he appeared somewhat gloomy.

“Ah, Dr. Choi.”

“Yes… The others… Yes, they are coming.”

Manager Shin pointed towards two attending physicians walking down the hospital corridor.

“Firstly, let’s check on the patients and then discuss how to redistribute them.”

As soon as the two attending physicians joined them, he headed towards the nearest hospital room.

Suhyuk and everyone else nodded and followed him closely. They didn’t rush indiscriminately into the rooms. Instead, they waited outside until the attending physician briefly summarized the patient’s condition before entering together. This was their routine.

“Patient Park Ki-tae was admitted yesterday through the emergency room due to an unknown fever. The test results show elevated levels of CRP at 6.1 and ESR at 24. Currently, apart from non-specific symptoms like coughing and producing phlegm, there are no other significant signs.”

“It’s not influenza?”

“The morning tests came back negative.”

“Hmm.”

Since it was a challenging patient, a second-year resident with sharp responses had been assigned to handle the case.

“What is your impression (suspected diagnosis)?”

“I…it still appears to be undifferentiated fever for now.”

It seemed they hadn’t yet determined a definitive diagnosis. However, Shin Hyun-tae didn’t appear particularly disappointed. It wasn’t reasonable to expect an immediate diagnosis for a patient who had just been admitted via the emergency room one day ago, especially since he was only a resident, not a professor.

Instead of scolding Shin Hyun-tae, Manager Shin turned to Yoo Jisang and Lee Suhyuk, both first-year residents, and asked:

“What do you think?”

His voice clearly conveyed his lack of expectations.

“I…I’m not sure,” as expected, Yoo Jisang shook his head. Even if he knew, he would have denied it. He wasn’t one to assert himself when a second-year resident couldn’t provide an answer. There was even a rumor that he should have pursued politics instead of medicine.

“And you?” Manager Shin nodded, anticipating this response before turning to Suhyuk.

Suhyuk promptly replied with uncertainty, although it was intentional on his part.

“No, I don’t know. Huh?”

“Actually, Baruda knows.”

[Suhyuk doesn’t know, but Baruda does.]

If Baruda hadn’t interrupted and allowed Suhyuk to speak his mind… Manager Shin’s expression turned complicated.

‘He truly has gone mad.’

It wasn’t because he believed Lee Suhyuk knew the correct answer. How could a first-year resident know when even Manager Shin was only making an educated guess? Moreover, Suhyuk had been bedridden until today.

‘I need to gather more funds before discharging him…’

With this firm determination to release the now-insane Suhyuk from the hospital, Manager Shin questioned him again.

“What is it? You’re not joking, right?”

Suhyuk couldn’t immediately respond, as he genuinely had no idea what to say.

‘Sh-shit, damn you!’

[Don’t worry. Just follow my prompts.]