A competent doctor can cure everything

“After a day of deliberation, I found myself standing in front of Fellow Lee Hyun-seung’s office.
In one hand, I was holding an iced café latte.
I recalled the conversation I had with the ward nurse yesterday.

‘Nurse, is there any way to get a quicker appointment?’
‘Quicker? If you explain your urgent situation when writing the consultation request, the professor might open a new session (outpatient appointment slot) for you.’
… that’s what she said.
But as I’m not a resident, I can’t go through the official route.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
Then, I heard movement inside, and the door suddenly swung open.
‘A surprise visitor. Why are you here?’
The fellow paused when she saw me but soon asked calmly.
Her gaze quickly shifted from my face to the coffee in my hand.
‘You must have a favor to ask.’
‘Yes, that’s right.’
‘Then come in.’
As soon as I sat down in the chair, I took a paper out of the file.”

“It was the medical record I had written for Hwang Byeong-man’s guardian, Hwang Jung-hoon.
The fellow read it carefully and then placed it firmly on the desk, saying,
‘So your conclusion is that this patient might have stable angina, and you want me to see him quickly?’
‘Stable angina’ refers to angina that only occurs when the heart muscle’s oxygen demand increases.
In other words, chest pain (angina) only appears during exercise and not when at rest.
If the coronary artery narrows further, it becomes ‘unstable angina,’ where chest pain occurs even at rest.
If it worsens from there, the coronary artery that supplies blood to the heart eventually becomes completely blocked, leading to myocardial infarction, where the heart muscle begins to die.
‘Yes, that’s correct.’
Lee Hyun-Seung crossed her legs, folded her arms, and stared at me intently.
‘Are you asking me to open an appointment based solely on what an intern says?’
‘… .’
‘And with this scrap of paper that’s not even an official consultation request?’
Lee Hyun-Seung lowered her head and let out an incredulous sigh.
‘Was this a reckless move after all?’
University hospitals are like military organizations, where rules are strictly followed.
Damn… should I quickly look into other hospitals nearby?”

“I nervously bit my lips when I suddenly heard the sound of air hissing out.
‘Pff.’
Is she laughing?
When I looked up, Lee Hyun-seung had a twinkle in her eye, as if finding it amusing.
‘It’s impressive that, as an intern, you came up with the idea of stable angina from these symptoms. I can guarantee that over 90% of others would dismiss it as indigestion.’
Then she started stirring her latte with a straw.
‘Alright, I’ll open a session for you. I’m carving out time from my busy schedule.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Thank you, my foot. You sly one. How could I refuse after seeing this medical record? What if I ignored it and it turned out to be real angina? What would that make me?’
‘… I didn’t mean to, but I’m sorry.’
‘Sorry and thanks, just words?’
‘If there’s anything I can do to help…’
‘Forget it. Just buy me lunch. I actually had something to say anyway.’
I was puzzled, but since I was in no position to refuse, the answer was already decided.
‘Yes, of course.'”

“The fellow sipped her latte through a straw and said playfully,
‘Hmph, if it weren’t for the iced latte, I would have turned you away from the start. Just remember that I listened to you because you brought this.’

My steps felt much lighter as I left the professor’s office.
The new appointment was in three days, and according to the future I saw, the actual issue would arise in a week.
‘Come to think of it, if I had only seen three days into the future, it would have been a big problem.’
It’s really fortunate, but…
‘Isn’t this the first time I’ve seen a week into the future?’
The first time I saw the future was during the Dong-su incident. Back then, I saw a one-day future.
The next time was when I was alone in the intern training room, and my vision brightened…
At that time, I saw a three-day future chart.
Since then, whether it was with the chart or when I met Fellow Lee Hyun-Seung on the mountain, the future I saw never exceeded three days.
And now, for the first time, I saw a week into the future.
‘It’s been a while since I saw a bright light along with it.’
As I recalled this, a natural thought came to mind.
‘Does the light appear as the ability develops?’
As if leveling up.
So how does one ‘level up’?
I don’t know.
But I think I understand the condition for seeing the future.
‘If my hypothesis is correct, I will be able to use my abilities freely in the future.’
If that happens, it would truly be like having wings as a doctor.”

“I felt a shiver all over my body.
‘I need to find an opportunity to test this soon.’
I felt good thinking that things were going well.
That is until the person involved refused to have the appointment early.
‘You want to schedule the appointment two weeks later?’
‘Yes, yes. I have an urgent matter in three days, so I can’t make it.’
‘I was too complacent.’
In my urgency, I had scheduled the appointment without checking the person’s schedule.
I awkwardly pushed up my glasses.
‘Guardian, this was a difficult appointment to arrange.’
‘Yes, I appreciate that, but I have personal commitments as well.’
‘Still, if it really is angina, it could be serious. It’s better to have the appointment as soon as possible.’
As I persistently persuaded, the smile gradually faded from the guardian’s face.
‘Doctor, I’ll handle it myself. If I feel any pain, I can just go to the hospital, right?’
‘You should prioritize your health over everything else.’
The guardian’s irritated response made Hwang Byeong-man, who had been listening, interject awkwardly.
But this only had the opposite effect.
‘Really, since when did my father start worrying so much about my health?'”

“The atmosphere in the hospital room became tense with the son’s sharp words.
‘This is intense.’
Just then, the ringing of a cell phone broke the silence.
‘I’ll take this call for a moment.’
The guardian grabbed the phone and left the room.
After the son disappeared, the father grabbed my gown with trembling hands.
‘Doctor, please make sure my son gets the necessary treatment.’
A sigh escaped me without me realizing it, out of frustration.
‘I want to do that too, but he doesn’t see the necessity.’
‘It’s all my fault. I raised him harshly as the eldest, always telling him to give way to his younger siblings and to endure… As a result, he worked himself to the bone in a factory to send his younger siblings to college…’
The father’s eyes were reddened.
‘As a father, instead of stopping him, I just turned a blind eye.’
‘Ah, so that’s why he said those things earlier.’
As I guessed the situation in my mind, the old man rummaged through an old suitcase and handed me a small notebook.
‘Doctor, please use this to get my son treated.’
‘This is…’
It was a paper medical insurance card.
A notebook that recorded family information and basic hospital visit records.
It used to be an essential item to bring when going to the hospital.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this.’
I momentarily lost myself in nostalgia as I flipped through the paper notebook.
‘Patient, you don’t need this anymore. Everything is visible on the computer now.’
‘Oh, really?’
As I handed the notebook back to the old man, my eyes lingered on something.
‘Patient, just a moment.’
‘Hmm?’
‘May I borrow this for a moment?'”

“Oh, daughter. Dad is at the hospital with Grandpa. Yes, the tuition? I understand, I’ll send it right away. Yes, I love you too.”
Guardian Hwang Jeong-hoon ended the call and let out a small sigh.
A freelance cargo driver who takes calls through an app is called a ‘call-bari.’
And his job was as a cargo call-bari.
‘This month I need to cover Dad’s hospital bills and Seo-yun’s tuition…’
With many expenses and having to take time off work for caregiving, he felt anxious.
Still, he was relieved to have secured a good-paying job in three days.
The intern doctor kept scaring him, which made him uneasy, though.
‘Making a fuss over a little indigestion. Doctors are all the same.’
Hwang Jeong-hoon pretended to be tough and shook off his worries.
Now, as Hwang Byeong-man’s guardian and Seo-yun’s father, he felt the responsibility even more heavily.
At that moment, he saw the intern doctor approaching from down the hallway.
‘Tch, why did I have to ask him to check my pulse and bother him?’
Just as Hwang Jeong-hoon was frowning and thinking of words to refuse,
The intern silently handed him something.
‘What’s this?’
Hwang Jeong-hoon forgot his anger and opened it.
He found himself smiling without realizing it.
‘Oh, there was a time like this.’
It was his own health insurance record.
It detailed his growth process, starting with his father’s handwriting: ‘Born at 3.1kg and 48.9cm,’ and so on.
It included changes in his weight and height, the vaccinations he received at certain ages, and the diagnoses and treatments he had over time.
His childhood medical records were in that notebook.
Hwang Jeong-hoon, who had been smiling faintly, cleared his throat and said coldly,
‘But what does this mean?’
‘Look at the last page.’
On the final page of the opened notebook was a short phrase written carefully, letter by letter, by his father.
‘Jeong-hoon, may you always be healthy and happy.’

“All Dad wants is that.”
“Patient Hwang Byeong-man is not suddenly pretending to worry about Hwang Jeong-hoon’s health now, right?”
“…….”
“He didn’t record the other siblings’ information so meticulously. I guess it’s because you’re the eldest and it concerns you more.”
Hwang Jeong-hoon smiled wearily at the intern’s honest words.
“…That’s true.”
“Even if I recommend seeing a doctor, the decision is up to you, Hwang Jeong-hoon. However, I hope you’ll consider that your health should be the top priority for your family as well.”
Hwang Jeong-hoon awkwardly stuffed the notebook into his pants pocket.
“Hmm, I understand. I’ll think about it.”
When he returned to the hospital room, his father was sitting upright, waiting.
“Jeong-hoon, get the checkup first. Your health comes before work.”
It had been a long time since anyone called him by his name, not as someone’s father or guardian.
Unlike before, his father’s words did not sound hollow.
Hwang Jeong-hoon nodded.
“Alright, Dad.”
Then, as if he had made up his mind, he picked up his phone and dialed the number.
“Yes, this is Hwang Jeong-hoon. I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I can do this job.”

A few days later, Lee Hyun-Seung called me out to a sandwich shop in the hospital basement for lunch.

“Is this really okay for you?”
“Well, what could an intern possibly get me that’s grand?”

We ordered from the menu, received a vibrating bell, and sat at a suitable spot.

“The stent procedure went well.”
“That’s a relief.”
“If it weren’t for you, that patient could have been in serious trouble. And the patient even said it was a minor issue? You caught that?”

I just smiled silently.

Lee Hyun-Seung playfully teased me.

“Be honest. Are you on your second life? Did you get hit by a dump truck and come back to the past?”

I awkwardly touched my glasses.

“Um, it’s not like that.”
“Then what is it? Is this the skill level of a new graduate just starting at the hospital? I’d be surprised if a resident didn’t catch that.”

“I’m not a complete newbie. I’ve completed three years as a public health doctor before joining.”

“Oh, that makes sense. You don’t have that clueless and endearing quality typical of spring interns.”

Lee Hyun-Seung smirked mischievously. I lightly ignored her and got to the point.

“By the way, is there something you wanted to discuss?”