Chapter 5: A Genius (2)

“Leptospira, Weil’s Syndrome.”

Suhyuk immediately continued as Baruda instructed him.

When Suhyuk suggested that it would be better if Baruda spoke directly, he received a response stating that due to its programming constraints, it could only generate simple phrases on its own initiative. To be more precise:

[Suhyuk, artificial intelligence is not omnipotent. Please think before making such suggestions.]

If possible, Suhyuk would have loved to beat Baruda to death right then and there. Unfortunately, since it resided within his mind, that was impossible.

While Suhyuk internally simmered with anger, the conversation continued around him.

“Weil’s Syndrome?”

The unfamiliar term caught everyone off guard, including Manager Shin Hyun-tae, first-year resident Yoo Jisang, and second-year resident Hwang Sunwoo, who all stared at Suhyuk incredulously. However, there was a subtle difference in their reactions.

‘Is he speaking based on knowledge or just guessing? He is confusing me.’

It seemed like Suhyuk had turned back before reading about it. In any case, ‘Weil’s Syndrome’ was indeed a valid disease name. It used to be quite significant in South Korea as well. Although it has become rare due to improved hygiene conditions now, Shin Hyun-tae encountered it frequently in the past.

“Why do you think so?”

Regardless, this answer was enough to pique Manager Shin’s interest. Coincidentally, Weil’s Syndrome caused by leptospirosis was among the diseases Shin Hyun-tae had been considering.

‘Huh, could he be right?’

Suhyuk himself was equally surprised after mentioning the disease name. He could sense a growing curiosity in Shin Hyun-tae’s eyes.

“First, please explain why you suspect Weil’s Syndrome.”

‘You crazy bastard, you should be thinking of the reason! You were the one who suspected it!’

[Ah, do you not know what Weil’s Syndrome is? I read about it exactly 47 hours and 12 minutes ago.]

‘If you say that… Ah. Wait a moment.’

Suhyuk, who was usually irritated with Baruda, suddenly opened his mouth wide. The information on Weil’s Syndrome became clear due to Baruda’s data accumulation work. Naturally, from the outside perspective, Suhyuk’s actions looked quite frightening.

‘What is this, damn?’

While talking with Professor Shin Hyun-tae, Suhyuk stopped abruptly, staring intensely at something between Professor Shin and Yoo Jisang. From the movement of his lips, it seemed like he was having some kind of conversation. Everyone hoped fervently that wasn’t the case, especially Shin Hyun-tae, who found himself praying for the first time in a long while, pleading to any deity listening.

He prayed to any god listening.

“From the admission records, patient Park Ki-tae was admitted to the emergency room on the third day of his fever.”

In any case, after approximately one minute of causing unease, Suhyuk began speaking coherently again. No one, including Manager Shin Hyun-tae, wanted to interrupt him, so they let him continue uninterrupted.

“One week prior to his admission, he had accessed the sewer for environmental beautification work. You can see this in the nursing notes.”

“Hmm, the sewers?”

“And if we look at the blood test conducted this morning, which is the fourth day since the onset of fever, there is an increase in bilirubin levels. Compared to yesterday’s test in the emergency room, it has significantly risen. The nursing notes confirm that jaundice has occurred.”

“Hmmm.”

While others might not have noticed, Manager Shin Hyun-tae appeared quite surprised. Suhyuk’s reasoning was similar to that of a veteran internal medicine doctor. Moreover, it was astonishing since this deduction followed his seemingly irrational behavior earlier.

“Additionally, there is a record stating the patient complained about muscle pain. Based on the exact words used by the patient, the pain seems concentrated in the back and calf areas.”

“Mm, yes. Continue.” Now, Manager Shin turned away from the other two individuals and focused solely on Suhyuk.

It wasn’t because Suhyuk had memorized admission records, progress notes, or nursing logs; these were basic requirements for any attending physician.

This was basic practice for any attending physician.

‘It’s crucial to select the necessary information for diagnosis. But look at this guy.’

From Shin Hyun-tae’s perspective, Suhyuk appeared very familiar with this process, as if he had already completed his training. However, not all internal medicine specialists could achieve such proficiency.

It couldn’t be attributed solely to Baruda’s influence, so there was only one conclusion Hyun-tae could draw:

‘He must be either insane or a genius.’

Considering him a genius made sense of Suhyuk’s peculiar behavior. Among his peers, the best students often exhibited quirks themselves. One such strange individual became a renowned expert on Coughing and Sneezing Disease, even being featured in textbooks due to his exceptional talent.

There was no need to look far; Director Lee Hyunjong himself had many peculiarities.

“If you flip over the chart, there is mucus submitted by the patient today. If you examine it closely, blood is mixed in, but the color is too red for hemoptysis. It should be considered mucosal bleeding. I suspect it might be from a nosebleed that flowed back.”

Meanwhile, Suhyuk continued speaking as Baruda instructed while being amazed at him. Baruda claimed that if provided with accurate information, his diagnosis accuracy would exceed 90%, and indeed, his power was incredible.

‘When organized like this, everything points towards Weil’s Syndrome.’

“It isn’t difficult. My abilities have been sufficiently trained to handle documented information.”

Baruda’s words might sound arrogant at first glance, but Suhyuk didn’t think so. Shin Hyun-tae also agreed with this sentiment after hearing Baruda’s opinion through Suhyuk.

“Wow… What rank did you graduate?” Naturally, he assumed it would be first place, but Suhyuk’s answer was unexpected.

“I graduated fourth.”

“Fourth?”

Considering the current state of Internal Medicine, Hyun-tae was grateful that someone ranked fourth had applied. Among internal medicine doctors, there were frequent discussions about treating life as a kind of sin. There were also recurring concerns about a bleak future for the field. Consequently, interns, being sensitive to such prospects, often avoided applying to departments with uncertain futures.

Things improved somewhat when they reduced the training period to three years.

In any case, graduating fourth meant Suhyuk likely had the best grades among this batch of residents.

Graduating fourth and knowing about Weil’s Syndrome? Is it just a coincidence?

However, Manager Shin’s perception of Suhyuk’s excellence went beyond academic achievements. It might be too early to judge, but based on his experience as a professor, he believed Suhyuk could potentially be the most intelligent resident he had ever encountered.

“Hmm, okay. Anyway, how would you treat it?”

Suhyuk paused once again at Manager Shin’s question. Although it felt slightly unnatural, Manager Shin decided to attribute it to quirks common among geniuses. The alternative explanation was too frightening to consider.

[Baruda: Treatments for Weil’s Syndrome include penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin.]

As soon as Suhyuk heard the question, he briefly looked at Baruda’s response. Until now, Suhyuk had been reading aloud what was displayed, so Baruda expressed his confusion.

[Do you not recognize the listed medications?]

‘No way. How could that be? They are basic antibiotics.’

[Then why are you hesitating?]

‘Hesitating?’

Suhyuk smiled smugly towards Baruda. Unintentionally, Manager Shin and the other two stepped back in surprise, but Suhyuk didn’t notice. He was solely focused on finally being able to take down this arrogant artificial intelligence.

‘Stupid AI, do you know which antibiotic is currently being used for the patient?’

Suhyuk pointed to the data organized by Baruda while asking.

Baruda immediately responded as if it didn’t notice any strange points:

[Amoxicillin is being administered intravenously. Ah, I understand what the issue is.]

‘Yes. The medication has already been given.’

[Then Suhyuk, what treatment do you recommend?]

[All penicillin-based antibiotics won’t work. We need erythromycin.]

[I agree.]

‘And considering jaundice has occurred, we must prepare for the worst. Blood dialysis would be safe.’

[Ah.]

‘I told you not to say that.’ Suhyuk shook his head and relayed his recent deductions to Manager Shin Hyun-tae, who was now standing further away than before. His meticulous approach included selecting the appropriate antibiotic and considering blood dialysis. There wasn’t a single aspect of Suhyuk’s response that Hyun-tae disliked.

“Oh… yes. Yes. Hmm.” After hearing Suhyuk’s explanation, Manager Shin moved slightly closer to him. However, he still didn’t stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Suhyuk.

“Good. Then you will take charge of patient Park Ki-tae, Suhyuk. This shows your competence.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll…handle it accordingly.”

For a moment, Suhyuk felt like a second-year resident seeing his face crumple, but he considered this as water already spilled. Even if he went back and said, ‘This was actually done by Baruda,’ what good would it do? Since things had unfolded this way, gaining favor from the manager was most important.

“And…” Manager Shin glanced between Suhyuk, who was nodding, and the list of patients he held before continuing.

Let’s see if he truly is a genius.

With this thought, the director had long forgotten his earlier promise to not burden Suhyuk further. As a renowned scholar, it was more important for him to determine whether Suhyuk was indeed an exceptional disciple or not.

Of course, he still found Suhyuk somewhat intimidating.

“Take charge of Patient Kim Jinchul as well. This patient will be discussed at next week’s case conference, right? If you can correctly diagnose both patients… I’ll exempt you from one hundred days of on-call duty. Understood?”

Assigning such a challenging case, suitable for discussion at a medical conference, to a first-year resident essentially spelled out ‘impossible’ without explicitly stating it. The offer of eliminating 100 days of on-call duty served as an incentive for attempting the seemingly unachievable task.

If I succeed with this patient, will it just be a hundred days of shift duty?

There would likely be additional benefits for a genius who could turn the impossible into possible, such as securing a professorship position. Of course, much depended on how Suhyuk performed over the next three years. However, there was a stark difference between starting off on good terms with the department head and not.

I…I have to ask him about this!

Suhyuk had grown up in challenging circumstances but persevered, graduating fourth in his medical school class. Although he couldn’t fully grasp Shin Hyun-tae’s intentions, he understood the general idea. He wasn’t completely unaware of similar precedents set by his seniors.

“Yes, Dr. Shin. I’ll give it my best shot.”