Dr. Taesoo Choi

For a moment, Dr. Pyo checked the patient’s condition and vital signs, then spoke.
“Okay, let’s bring the patient in.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lee Pil-young, the assistant on the right side of the operating table, looked at Tae-su.
With just a nod, the meaning was clear.
Tae-su immediately left the operating room and ran to the waiting room.
Before he even reached the attending surgeon’s waiting room, the door opened and Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun came out.
Seeing Tae-su, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun asked first.
“Is the patient anesthetized?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know?”
Tae-su quickly replaced his puzzled expression with a smile and asked,
“Honestly, I’m curious.”
“That’s trust among the team members. You’ll understand later. Go on.”
Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun immediately moved towards the operating room.

After washing his hands, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun entered the operating room.
“Good morning!”
The voices of the team were loud and clear.
As he dried his hands with the cloth provided by the nurse, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun spoke.
“How’s everyone feeling today?”
“Good.”
“Since it’s AVF, let’s get it done quickly.”
“Please take care of it!”
As the team responded in unison, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun finished preparing and took his place by the operating table.
Tae-su, watching from behind, couldn’t hide the confusion he felt.
The familiarity he had sensed the moment he entered the operating room was now clear to him.
Just as Tae-su’s thoughts were becoming deeper,
“Choi, you’re up.”
At the call, Tae-su flinched and quickly responded,
“Yes, Professor.”
“Explain AVF.”
As the surgery continued, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun asked.
Without delay, Tae-su answered,
“It’s a surgery to create a passage by connecting an artery and vein to facilitate blood dialysis.”
“That’s too simple. It’s easy to understand.”
Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun turned his head and gave Tae-su a strange look.
For a moment, Tae-su felt embarrassed.
The information he had studied had disappeared from his mind, and he had simply summarized the key points.
The problem was that the core meaning was packed into such a brief statement.
Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun’s gaze became more puzzled, and if Tae-su didn’t offer an explanation quickly, he might be misunderstood as being arrogant.
Tae-su quickly made a justification,
“I like to simplify things when I memorize. I apologize if it seemed rude.”
“It’s not that. I just thought it would be easier to memorize. So, what are the advantages of AVF?”
Another question.
Before Tae-su could even think about the procedure, he reflexively answered,
“The high pressure in the artery allows blood to flow quickly.”
“Good. Now, what are the disadvantages?”
“Continuous injection stimulation can lead to stenosis.”
With each of Tae-su’s responses, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun nodded.
But Tae-su was astonished.
‘I’ve never studied this much about AVF.’
He had studied what AVF was and its causes, but not the advantages and disadvantages.
However, not knowing that, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun continued to ask.
“In that case, what are the measures to take?”
“Angioplasty and vascular surgery.”
“Explain both.”
With the continued questioning, Tae-su gave appropriate answers.
“First, angioplasty is…”
As he spoke, Tae-su noticed a slight surprise in Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun’s eyes.
“You studied that too?”
“I’ve been interested, so I dug into it.”
Though it might have sounded like a weak excuse, it was a satisfactory response to others.
Inside, Tae-su was in a state of panic.
Thoracic surgery was something others avoided, and Tae-su was no exception.
He only applied for the thoracic surgery practice to gain an advantage of perseverance while working in another department.
But strangely, he had become a theoretical expert in a field he had not intended to specialize in.
Having already said it, he couldn’t take back his words, and Tae-su felt like he was losing his mind.
But Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun looked at him with a curious expression.
“With that knowledge, you must have practiced as well?”
“About a few hundred times.”
“What?”

“Ah, no. I just buried myself in professional textbooks,” Tae-su said quickly, trying to change the subject.
He almost wanted to shut his mouth for making up things that weren’t even true.
But Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun smiled faintly and said to Tae-su,
“Then it seems like you should get a closer look. Go wash your hands.”
As soon as Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun finished speaking, there was a slight stir in the operating room.
For an intern to be asked to wash their hands after observing their first surgery in thoracic surgery—
It was like telling them they would be participating in the surgery.
Although they wouldn’t be directly assisting, it was still a surprising opportunity.
Tae-su felt the same way.
“Wash my hands?”
“Did you not hear me?”
“No, I’ll be right back.”
Tae-su immediately moved his body.
Arriving at the sink, instead of washing his hands, Tae-su splashed water on his face first.
Splash! Splash!
The cold water hitting his face helped clear his hazy mind.
“Get it together.”
He admonished himself, trying to regain composure.
But his mind was already filled with every theory and procedure about AVF.
He really felt like opening his brain to understand it all.
Tuk tuk!
He tapped his head to clear his thoughts and then began washing his hands thoroughly with a small brush, scrubbing down to the tips of his fingers to eliminate any bacteria.
Though he wished he could cleanse the bacteria in his mind, he knew it was time to go back to the operating room.
With water dripping from his hands, Tae-su arrived in front of the operating room.
Zing!
As the door opened, the scene of the operating room unfolded again.
But this time, Tae-su’s gaze wavered slightly.
It was just a brief absence to wash his hands, yet the atmosphere felt entirely different.
The air seemed heavier, almost as if he had entered a different world.
No, it was more accurate to say that the atmosphere he was sensing had changed.
It felt like the somber mood of a soldier entering a battlefield.
Though this wasn’t the first time he’d entered an operating room, an inexplicable sense of pressure surrounded him.
“Phew.”
He exhaled deeply, trying to calm his mind as quickly as possible.
After collecting himself, Tae-su took a few steps inside, and the nurse, seemingly waiting for him, handed him a cloth.
After drying his hands, he was given a surgical gown, mask, and gloves in succession.
Once Tae-su had put them on, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun, as if waiting, spoke.
“Come over here.”
“Yes.”
As soon as he responded, Tae-su moved to stand next to Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun.
Looking at the operating table, he saw the patient’s right forearm exposed, with blood vessels visible.
There was some bleeding, but overall, the situation seemed under control.
At that moment, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun spoke.
“Straight.”
Suddenly, a straight instrument was thrust in front of Tae-su.
The nurse had handed it to him.
Tae-su received it and was ready to pass it to the professor in a way that would make it easy for him to grab.
This wasn’t just about handing over an instrument; it was an opportunity to observe up close.
It was a rare opportunity for an intern, so Tae-su made sure not to miss a single detail.
Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun continued the surgery with the instrument that Tae-su handed him.
While handing over surgical tools, Tae-su carefully observed the procedure.
‘His movements aren’t bad at all.’
Just as Tae-su thought that, he stopped in his tracks.
Here it came again.
He quickly shook his head to clear his mind and focused.
If the professor noticed a mistake, Tae-su knew it would ruin his chance at becoming a resident.
He had no intention of digging his own grave.
Tae-su kept reminding himself that he was just an intern, suppressing any urge to make a mistake.
At the same time, his eyes remained fixed on the procedure.
Then, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun extended his hand to the side, signaling that he was ready to receive an instrument.
Tae-su naturally handed it over.
Though it seemed like a simple task, the fewer words exchanged, the faster the surgery proceeded.
The procedure continued smoothly until, at some point,
Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun suddenly looked away from the surgical site and tilted his head as he gazed at Tae-su.
“What’s going on with you?”
“Excuse me?”

“That thing you’re holding,” Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun asked, and Tae-su lowered his gaze to his hand.
He was holding a hemostat.
Then, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun continued,
“I don’t remember asking for that. How did you know?”
Tae-su was at a loss for words.
He had instinctively handed it over, knowing it would be needed for the next part of the surgery.
Newly acquired knowledge had naturally triggered this response.
But he couldn’t exactly explain that truthfully.
He had to say something.
Tae-su quickly racked his brain and came up with a plausible excuse.
“I wanted to participate in AVF surgery, so I’ve read through dozens of clinical cases.”
“Really? How about other surgeries?”
“If given the chance, I’ll stay up all night studying and reviewing them.”
“Good attitude.”
A small compliment slipped from Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun’s lips.
But more than that, Tae-su was relieved that he hadn’t noticed the awkwardness.
“Be careful, Tae-su.”
He felt like he was subconsciously trying to hypnotize himself.
After finishing with the hemostat, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun extended his hand for the next instrument, and Tae-su immediately passed it to him.
At that moment, Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun flashed a quick smile at Tae-su, and Tae-su returned the smile, trying to brush off his discomfort.

After the surgery ended, Tae-su couldn’t stop his heart from pounding.
Had he not been able to hold himself back?
The feelings of regret continued to stir in his mind.
The complicated self-blame made it hard for him to focus on anything else.
Tae-su went straight to the nursing station to organize the piled-up charts.
It seemed like doing something would help quell the unease he was feeling.
His main task was to review paper charts and input the data into the EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system.
Once entered, the information could be accessed throughout the hospital.
One of the benefits was that it was integrated with PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), allowing access to not just CTs and MRIs, but also fluoroscopy and angiography images.
The system had many advantages, but right now it was merely a tool for Tae-su to shake off his confusion.
Click-click.
He kept typing the chart details into the EMR, his hands never leaving the keyboard.
Though there were many parts that had to be written in English, he was so skilled that it didn’t slow him down.
Tae-su was at least happy for this moment when he didn’t have to think about anything.
However, that peace was short-lived.
Brring.
The hospital-provided phone rang.
It was a rule to answer all calls.
“Intern Choi Tae-su speaking.”
“Stop whatever you’re doing and get to the resident on-call room within a minute!”
It was Chief Park Seong-min’s voice.
“I’m on my way.”
Tae-su immediately rose from his seat and rushed toward the resident on-call room.
The resident on-call room was located behind the SICU, as it was the area that needed to respond the fastest in emergencies.
As Tae-su approached the glass door leading into the SICU, he quickly opened it and entered.
The room, reserved for the male staff, had a musty smell that immediately hit his nose.
However, Tae-su didn’t flinch and walked straight toward Chief Park Seong-min.
“Did you need something?”
“I expect a quick explanation of what happened.”
“What are you talking about?”
At Tae-su’s question, Chief Park Seong-min’s eyes rolled upward.
“You don’t know? Really? Are you pretending not to know, or do you genuinely not know?”
“That’s not it…”
“A little while ago, I was face-to-face with Associate Professor Baek Seong-hyun. I told you that if you were called after the surgery, you’d better be ready.”
As Chief Park Seong-min’s expression turned serious, Tae-su froze.