NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
Chapter 7
“I can eat all this by myself.”
“You’ll get sick if you overeat suddenly.”
“I ate ten triangle kimbap earlier this afternoon, but they disappeared quickly.”
“What? You ate ten triangle kimbap?”
“Yes.”
Although Song Jiho was momentarily conflicted, since the words had already been spoken, he had no choice but to act magnanimous.
“Okay, then pick as much as you can eat. But if you can’t finish it all, I’ll take it as a sign that you’re trying to get me to eat flies.”
“Don’t worry, I can eat it all.”
Lee Minho filled the basket to the brim and added a few more items to his arms, while Song Jiho concealed his wrinkled expression and gritted his teeth inwardly.
‘I thought this bastard was easygoing, but maybe he had something against me after all? Just you wait and see if you can’t finish it all!’
“Aren’t you going to choose anything, Dr. Song Jiho?”
“H-huh? Mine?! I still need to pick out what I’m going to eat?”
“This is for me.”
“Oh! Okay, got it. I’ll pick mine separately. Are you sure you can finish that all?”
“I’d like to pick a little more, but I might get sleepy if I overeat, so I’ll just eat in moderation.”
“Damn, let’s see if you can really finish it all.”
As Lee Minho placed the basket and snacks on the checkout counter, Song Jiho added his lunchbox and drinks, then handed over his card.
Beep beep beep… When the total amount appeared, Song Jiho’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
‘105,200 won! Fuck, with this money, I could have gone out for a company dinner.’
A short while later, Song Jiho sat down with Lee Minho and ate his lunchbox feeling like he was chewing sand. He looked at the mountain of food Lee Minho had piled on the table.
‘Unless he’s a food fighter, there’s no way he can finish all that!’
If he left any food, there would be consequences.
Crunch, crunch, slurp, slurp……
While Song Jiho was picking at his lunchbox with chopsticks, Lee Minho started eating everything in sight, starting with sandwiches, then cup ramen, lunchbox kimbap, and snacks.
‘Is he really going to finish it all? Can all that fit in his skinny stomach?’
Song Jiho, who was initially angered by the cost on the card, started to worry as he watched the endless food disappear into Lee Minho’s mouth.
“Dr. Lee, take it slow. You’ll get sick.”
“Although it looks like I’m eating quickly, I’m savoring each bite. But are you sure you’re okay with just that? If you don’t have enough, I can give you some of mine.”
“No, I’m fine with this.”
Lee Minho offered him a piece of bread, but Song Jiho waved his hand away.
He couldn’t accept the bread and reduce the amount Lee Minho had to eat, because he planned to scold him if he didn’t eat it all.
“Aaah! There’s not a single bad-tasting dish here. This bread is so soft and sweet. It feels like chewing on clouds, the snacks are crunchy and savory, the carbonated is refreshing even though it tickles my nose, and how did they cook the pig’s feet so that there’s no smell at all? Did they put some precious herbs just to boil the pig’s feet? Hehe, my tongue is really having a feast today!”
Song Jiho looked dumbfounded as Lee Minho danced his shoulders while eating.
Rather than forcing to eat a lot, it seemed more like he was genuinely enjoying the food.
“Slurp! Aaah, Dr. Song Jiho. I really enjoyed the food.”
While Song Jiho was momentarily lost in thought, Lee Minho finally finished all the food and wiped his mouth after drinking the last of his drink, and Song Jiho blinked in disbelief.
“Wow! You ate all that food in no time! Impressive!”
“Everything was so delicious.”
“R-right. It’s great that you enjoy the food I bought you.”
“Next time, I’ll treat you.”
Hwabu proposed enthusiastically as he looked at the lunchbox Song Jiho had eaten.
Buying just a lunchbox and a drink wouldn’t burden him much.
“Your treat? Well, then, I’ll look forward to it.”
After throwing the wrappers into the trash can, Hwabu looked at the convenience store’s refrigerated section with regretful eyes.
In the refrigerated section, there were ready-to-eat foods like dumplings and pizzas that could be heated in the microwave.
‘Those are the dumplings Zhuge Liang made, and the pizza next to them is the of the people of color, which is the food of Saekmokins [1]. If I had my wallet, I would have tried those too.’
[1] Saekmokins – Western people
He made a promise to himself that he would try those before the possession ended.
Song Jiho unconsciously swallowed his dry saliva when saw Lee Minho looking at the frozen corner with a longing gaze.
‘What’s up with this guy? He can’t be wanting to eat more after eating that much, can he?’
***
Back at the ward station, Hwabu entered the orders given by Resident Song Jiho into the computer EMR (Electronic Medical Record).
Tatak tatatak tatak……
After typing on the keyboard, Hwabu raised his hands and tilted his head.
‘It’s my first time doing this today, so how is it possible to be so familiar?’
It didn’t seem like his soul was temporarily possessing this body, but rather as if the life of Hwabu, who had lived for a hundred years, had been added to the twenty-seven years of life and memories that Lee Minho had lived.
‘It doesn’t even feel like someone else’s hand anymore… Is this not possession?’
He had some doubts.
Moreover, from the moment he woke up in the morning until now, eight o’clock in the evening, there was no sign that the possession was going to end. Rather, the longer time passed, the more it felt like his soul was firmly settled in this body.
‘A whole day had passed, and the one who summoned me hasn’t shown up yet! I don’t know what intentions they had to summon me. Even when I concentrate and try to peer into the subconscious beyond consciousness, I don’t sense any hint of what might be the reason.’
There was a thought that perhaps the possession wouldn’t be released and would continue like this. In fact, it was because he had such thoughts that he was so diligently doing Lee Minho’s duties.
After a while, he finished entering the EMR (Electronic Medical Record), explained the prescriptions given to the patients during the night to the night shift nurses, and returned to the doctor’s office.
When he opened the door, he saw the residents and intern colleagues sprawled out like salted kimchi.
‘Heh, they look like soldiers in the barracks!’
Hwabu couldn’t help but laugh inwardly when he saw the senior residents were sprawled out in comfortable positions, the junior residents sitting somewhat stiffly, and the interns were either practicing suturing on artificial leather or practicing intubation by opening the mouth of a human dummy.
“Good job, everyone.”
When Lee Minho greeted the residents, Song Jiho and Choi Yongsoo nodded, but the rest of the residents didn’t even turn their heads.
“You’ve worked hard too. Have you given all the orders to the nurses?”
“Yes, I’ve given the orders as you instructed.”
“Hey, I heard from Dr. Song that you’re thinking of going into surgery?”
As he was answering Song Jiho’s question, Choi Yongsoo interjected.
“Yes. I’m thinking of going into surgery.”
As Lee Minho finished his answer, the eyes of the residents, who had been sprawled out like kimchi, all turned to him.
Among them, the chief resident (most senior resident) Kwak Sang-do asked Lee Minho.
“If you’re considering a surgical specialty, what about our department?”
“I’m considering CS (cardiothoracic surgery), but NS (neurosurgery) and GS (general surgery) also seem appealing, so I’m still thinking about it.”
“Our department, which deals with the heart, is more attractive than NS or GS. Don’t hesitate for too long and decide on our department. If you do, I’ll speak to other departments and ask them to take care of you during your intern rotations.”
Hwabu found Kwak Sang-do’s words to be a bit shameless.
They all had collectively tormented him, and now they were telling him to choose cardiothoracic surgery? Was it because they thought of him as an intern who would only train in cardiothoracic surgery for one month and leave, that they didn’t seem to have any guilt?
Hwabu decided that he had to teach them a lesson.
He would say that he would choose cardiothoracic surgery and then not choose it when the time came to choose a department.
Although he didn’t if the possession would still continue until then, if it did, he would definitely do it.
“I’ll consider other departments as well, but unless there’s a very special reason, I’ll consider CS as my top choice.”
“Good, haha, did you all hear?”
When Kwak Sang-do looked at the other residents, they all nodded in unison.
“Yes, we heard it.”
“Dr. Lee Minho.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Since you’ve verbally declared our department as your top choice, you shouldn’t go back on your word later.”
“Unless there’s a very special circumstance, I won’t change my mind.”
“What exactly constitutes a very special circumstance?”
“If I discover an organ more attractive than the heart, or if a professor from another department gives me a definite answer that they’ll hire me if I choose their department, or if a stunning beauty seduces me, wouldn’t I need to reconsider?”
When Lee Minho joked and shrugged, Kwak Sang-do’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t believe that he could joke and shrug nonchalantly even after going through such things.
Moreover, this was the hospital ward, where the hierarchy was much stricter than in the military, and he, Kwak Sang-do, was the chief, who held the highest authority in the hospital ward.
“Keuk, kuhahahaha…… you’re quite a character now. Where in the world is there an organ more attractive than the heart? And would a professor offer a position to an intern like you? Besides, a stunning beauty? If she’s a stunning beauty, wouldn’t she go to the plastic surgery to become even prettier, why would she go to cardiothoracic surgery?”
“Haha, I think so too.”
“Then, you’re locked with us.”
“Almost.”
“Almost is as good as confirmed. I can tell the other departments that you’ll be part of our family, right?”
“Yes, you can.”
“It’s nice to meet someone who genuinely really wants to be a doctor for once. That’s right, as a man, you should know how to brush off the past. Choi Yongsoo, Hong Yuna, Song Jiho, Kim Si-min.”
The four people Kwak Sang-do called were residents in their first and second years.
“Yes, Chief.”
“This guy is one of us from today on, so take care of him and teach him.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Hey, the rest of the interns.”
“Yes, Chief.”
At Kwak Sang-do’s call, the three interns who had been gathered in one corner stood up abruptly and answered like soldiers.
“How about you guys?”
“Yes?”
When the three of them looked puzzled almost simultaneously, Kwak Sang-do’s face wrinkled.
“Are you thinking of applying to our department?”
“T-that……”
As they hesitated to answer like Lee Minho, Kwak Sang-do clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk, right, you guys are normal. It’s better to be in Pian Seong Jaeyeong [1] (dermatology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, psychiatry, rehabilitation, radiology) than in our department, we don’t make much money, we get caught up in medical lawsuits, and we have to go through a lot of hardship.”
[1] this term is the combination of every first syllable of the stated departments [피부 (pi-bu), 안과 (an-kwa), 성형 (seong-hyeong), 정신 (jeon-sin), 재활 (jae-hwal), 영상 (yeong-sang)].
“……”
“Don’t just look at me, go and practice or something.”
Kwak Sang-do turned his head, and the three interns sat down with bewildered expressions.
“Yuna.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Now that Dr. Lee Minho has agreed to join our family, shouldn’t we have a welcome party?”
“O-of course we should.”
Hong Yuna answered, but with a puzzled expression.
It wasn’t like the intern had chosen cardiothoracic surgery right away, and he had only said that he might choose it later, so was it something to have a welcome party for?
She thought that perhaps Chief Kwak Sang-do, like herself, felt sorry for Lee Minho, so he was doing this.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and order pizza and chicken.”
“Yes, understood.”
Hong Yuna, a second-year resident, was in charge of managing the finances of the cardiothoracic surgery department.
While Hong Yuna ordered pizza and chicken on her phone app, Hwabu went to the table in the corner where his colleagues were.
The three interns looked at Lee Minho with sour expressions, as if performing a secret ceremony, and as he approached, they asked in small voices, as if they were doing ventriloquism.
“Are you really going to choose CS?”