Hua Tuo Becomes a Surgeon

Chapter 9

“To be honest, I had been considering radiology or rehabilitation medicine until recently. So, I thought I’d just get through the internship period in cardiothoracic surgery.”

“If you were considering radiology or rehab, why have you been practicing sutures for so long?”

“When I was practicing sutures, I did harbor dreams of becoming a surgeon who directly deals with life. But as I got older and faced reality, I realized being a surgeon wasn’t so easy.”

“Ahem, well it’s true being a surgeon isn’t easy. Damn. Then why did you change your mind about wanting to be a surgeon again?”

“While I was on call in the CICU (Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit) and seeing patients fighting for their lives, I suddenly wondered how I should live so that I wouldn’t regret when I die. Should I become a doctor for an easy paycheck or a doctor who saves lives despite the hardship and low pay?”

“……”

“When I think about getting old and dying, although money is good, I realized that living as a surgeon would leave me with no regrets. So, I changed my mind.”

When Hwabu finished speaking, the faces of all the residents, including Choi Yongsoo, became complicated.

They had expected him to harbor resentment from the unfair on duty, but he didn’t show any signs of that. Instead, there was a resolution to become a real surgeon.

If it were them, they might have been turned off surgery entirely. Yet he had reached the opposite decision.

“You brat, I thought you just had good hands, but you also have the right mindset! That’s right, doctors should strive to be surgeons.”

When Choi Yongsoo patted Im Min-ho’s shoulder, the faces of the interns who were watching crumpled like tissues.

Brrrriing……

Just then, Hong Yuna took out her phone from her pocket.

“Yes, the chicken and pizza are here. Okay, understood. I’ll go get them now.”

After hanging up the phone, Hong Yuna spoke to the interns who were receiving sharp glances.

“What are you all doing? The chicken and pizza are at the station.”

“Yes, we’ll go get them right away.”

The three of them quickly got up and left, and Lee Minho tried to follow them but Hong Yuna reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

“The three of them are enough, you just rest.”

“Yes, but…”

“Rest, just rest. Kick back and relax. That’s okay for today.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

***

“Argh! That spineless anchovy really made fools of us trying to save his own skin!”

As they left the doctor’s lounge heading for the station, Go Bong-gil gnashed his teeth so loudly that Kim Hyungsun, who nodded along, heard it.

“Because of anchovy’s lightning-fast change of heart, we’ve become materialistic doctors.”

“How can the guy who’s been the worst and most criticized out of us suddenly hit us in the back of the head?”

At that moment, Ahn Jisoo, who was watching the two of them getting angry, tilted her head quizzically.

“Hey, isn’t it a bit strange?”

“What’s strange?”

“Until now, Minho had been bullied by the residents not only because he didn’t have the intention to do surgery and was just passing time, but also because he was terrible at everything, right?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. That bastard couldn’t even get a C-line [1] better than me.”

[1] C-line – central line

“He was definitely the worst among us, but all of a sudden he’s good at C-lines and suturing like crazy. How did that happen?”

“Yeah, it’s like he became a completely different person!”

As Ahn Jisoo and Go Bong-gil exchanged puzzle looks, Kim Hyungsun recalled the scene he saw when he went to pick up Lee Minho during lunchtime and spoke up.

“Earlier, when I went to anchovy’s place to pick him up, he was in front of his computer watching surgery videos on the hospital website.”

“What? I don’t feel like doing anything when I get home.”

“I guess anchovy isn’t like that. The screen I saw was a heart transplant surgery, so it looks like he’s been secretly watching those videos and practicing behind our backs.”

“If he’s practicing by watching surgical videos at home, I guess he’s really determined to become a surgeon.”

“It seems like it.”

“Haah! Damn it, if he made up his mind like that, he should’ve told us, his fellow interns, first. Blindsiding us like today just makes us look stupid.”

“It’s annoying, but that hand movements he showed earlier…… Honestly, they were impressive.”

Kim Hyungsun said with a bitter smile, and both Go Bong-gil and Ahn Jisoo also had awkward expressions.

“It’s not something you can do after practicing for a day or two. With hands like that, I think it’s okay to choose surgery.”

“It’s not just okay. Didn’t you see the residents’ eyes widen earlier? I didn’t expect even the chief would be so surprised.”

“But no matter how good his hands are, he might not be able to perform that well when he actually puts a scalpel on a patient’s body. In fact, even if you’re good at cutting and suturing artificial skin and blood vessels, it’s common to not perform the same way on a real human body.”

“Hmm! Now that you’ve mentioned it, maybe anchovy had some kind of trauma that made him clumsy even though he’s good?”

“If anchovy has a trauma as you suspect, it might be difficult for him to become a surgeon.”

“If he can overcome the trauma, he can become a good surgeon, but if he can’t, he should consider another specialty.”

“Is it possible that he was aiming for non-surgical fields before because he couldn’t overcome that trauma?”

“Most likely. But since he said he wants to become a surgeon today, maybe he overcame it.”

“If he did, that anchovy might become a pretty skilled surgeon in the future.”

“That’s true. Honestly, surgeons with recognized skills can make good money, not to mention the prestige.”

A good surgeon with good hands is bound to catch a professor’s eye, and if that happens, there’s a high chance of being hired.

After going through a fellowship, he could even become an associate professor, and later even become a professor here at S University Hospital, which is considered one of the top five hospitals in the country.

“But he’s been targeted by Professor Hwang In-bong, so can he still be hired just because he has good hands?”

“Ha, well, that’s true.”

“He might make it through residency, but he’ll probably end up having to leave this hospital after all.”

‘Tsk, I showed off my skills to make the residents greedy of me, but it ended up earning the enmity of those three interns instead!’

Seeing the sharp gazes of the three interns, Hwabu could only inwardly smile wryly.

Back when he was called by many high officials for being known as a divine physician, the local physicians around him often looked at him with the same look.

Jealousy, envy, resentment, admiration.

Things that couldn’t be avoided once you demonstrated your skills.

‘Well, I don’t know when the possession will end, and I’ll enter the afterlife… it’s easier to just ignore it. Speaking of which, what a heavenly smell! I wonder what chicken and pizza taste like?’

Hwabu momentarily shifted his gaze from his fellow interns to the chicken and pizza.

He had tried various foods of this era — from ramen to triangular kimbap, convenience store lunchboxes, dumplings, snacks, and even pig’s trotters, but none had stimulated his sense of smell as much as this.

‘According to Lee Minho’s memories, chicken, pizza, and pork belly are the most delicious foods. If these are really tasty, I should try pork belly too!’

Though tantalized by the heavenly aroma, Hwabu didn’t dare to reach for the food and waited for the chief, Kwak Sang-do’s permission.

“What are you waiting for, it’ll get cold. Let’s eat.”

“Yes.”

When Kwak Sang-do picked up one of the chicken drumsticks, the residents’ hands quickly reached out for the chicken and pizza.

Among the residents, Hwabu also quickly grabbed a piece of chicken,

Crunch, crunch.

As soon as he put it into his mouth and bit into it, the crispy fried batter shattered, and the chicken’s juices hit his mouth.

‘Heook! Crazy! This is crazy! The chicken dishes I ate in the past weren’t dishes, they were garbage!’

Hwabu felt every taste bud in his mouth tingling and thought how lucky he was to possess someone in this era.

In fact, in the war-torn era he was from, the chicken was simply boiled or roasted and then seasoned with salt. So it couldn’t even be compared to the wonderful taste that was spreading in his mount right now.

‘Then what does the pizza taste like?’

After eating a piece of chicken, Hwabu rinsed his mouth with cola, picked up a slice of pizza, and took a bite.

Munch.

Suddenly, his mouth was filled with pizza, and the strong flavors of the various toppings and cheese assaulted his senses once more.

‘Haa! I, I feel like I’m going to cry. I can’t believe there are so many delicious foods in this era!’

Hwabu wished the possession would never end so that he could try all the delicious foods of this era.

***

When Hwabu mentioned having to leave early because he left his wallet at home, the resident Choi Yongsoo slightly frowned before nodding.

“An intern leaving early…… I want to ask if you’re crazy, but since you’re going to be part of the team, I’m going to be extra generous. But you have to come early tomorrow morning.”

“Yes. I’ll come at the crack of dawn tomorrow.”

“We’ll see about that. Go.”

“Then, see you tomorrow.”

As Lee Minho bid farewell and left, Choi Yongsoo smiled bitterly.

If it had been before, he definitely wouldn’t have let kind words leave his mouth. But after seeing Lee Minho’s suturing and anastomosis skills, he could no longer treat him as just an intern anymore.

No matter the world, once someone’s outstanding skills are recognized, one has no choice but to respect them, even if they are a junior.

The same applies to doctors.

Even though he’s just an intern, it wouldn’t be long before he was on equal footing with Choi Yongsoo. With skills like that, might rise even faster than him.

‘Damn it! If I knew he was that good, I would have eased up on him……’

Even though he was targeted by Professor Hwang, making it hard for him to stay in this hospital, Lee Minho could still make a name for himself at other hospitals.

After saying goodbye, Hwabu headed home at a brisk pace.

It was a ten-minute walk from the hospital. Before long, Hwabu arrived at his place.

When he arrived at his studio apartment, he noticed the keyhole below as he entered the password on the door.

“Oh, now I remember, I didn’t just leave my wallet, but my keys too.”

Thinking back, it seemed that he hadn’t even realized that it was a double door lock system that used a number pad and a key.

He opened the door, went inside, and checked the clothes he wore yesterday. There, in the pocket, were his wallet and keys.

Hwabu immediately came out of the studio and, looking through Lee Minho’s memories, went to a nearby meat restaurant.

Although he was still full from the pizza and chicken he had eaten not long ago, but since he didn’t know when the possession would end, he wanted to buy some pork belly.

He entered the restaurant and ordered pork belly and soju. Then he quickly looked at what others were eating.

‘Hmm, fortunately, most of them are eating pork belly with soju.’

Many people eating it meant it must be delicious.

He wondered how roasting pork over an open fire or charcoal differed from the sliced pork belly grilled on a skillet. He was also curious about the difference between soju and the rice wine he knew.