Chapter 119

Rupture.

The earlier impending rupture had now turned into a full-blown one.

Bang.

Kang-hyuk and Jaewon burst out of the control room and rushed into the CT room at the same time.

Through the speaker mounted on the ceiling, the technician’s urgent voice echoed.

“Ah, the scan is still in progress! Radiation—!”

They weren’t wearing lead aprons or anything else.

The patient was expected to be exposed to radiation for the scan anyway, but that wasn’t the case for them.

And it wasn’t like this was a rare occurrence—they were getting exposed quite frequently.

‘Unlike us, they’re not even monitoring their exposure.’

The technician unconsciously looked down at the badge clipped to his chest.

Every staff member presumed to be working under radiation exposure wore one.

But as far as the technician could tell, the ones most exposed were the interns.

And lately, those two from the Severe Trauma Center.

“This isn’t the time for that! Slave! Check the vitals!”

“B-Blood pressure’s dropping! Respiratory rate… spontaneous breathing is gone! No consciousness!”

“Damn it! Connect the ambu bag and squeeze!”

“Yes, sir!”

Jaewon was already diving to retrieve the ambu bag from the CT room.

He had experienced so many emergencies that he knew the room better than most technicians.

“Tech! Continue the scan!”

Kang-hyuk shouted.

The technician answered, still dazed.

His voice came through the ceiling speaker again.

“Continue… the scan?”

“Yes! We saw this coming! Now that it’s happened, we need proper imaging at least!”

“A-Alright! Got it.”

The technician pulled his hand away from the switch he was about to press to stop the machine.

The scan resumed.

The machine whirred louder and began imaging the patient’s chest.

Thanks to Jaewon connecting the ambu bag in time, the patient didn’t stop breathing entirely.

But his blood pressure continued to drop.

“Thank god we connected a second IV…”

Kang-hyuk muttered as he squeezed one of the IV bags the nurse had hooked up.

It wasn’t just saline—it was [Hartmann’s solution].

(T/N: [Hartmann’s solution] is an intravenous fluid used to treat dehydration and blood loss. It contains electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and lactate, helping to restore fluid and electrolyte balance.)

Typically used in the OR, it also served to stabilize blood pressure.

The nurse must have been experienced and connected it based on her intuition.

That alone was a relief.

“How much longer?”

Kang-hyuk asked as he manually maintained the patient’s blood pressure.

“Five more minutes!”

“Then alert Emergency Medicine! Tell them to send a CPR team to wait at the entrance!”

“Roger!”

The technician relayed the message through a radio on the desk.

Normally, complications from CT contrast were rare, and needing CPR was even rarer.

But patients sent to the ER of a university hospital and scanned via CT weren’t exactly average.

They were often in severely deteriorated states.

So the technicians were somewhat used to this level of emergency.

“Code Blue, Code Blue. Main building, Emergency CT room.”

The announcement went out on time.

Meanwhile, Kang-hyuk gently pressed on the patient’s neck.

He applied pressure not toward the tip of the blade—risking further penetration—but against the blade’s flat side.

‘Around here, I think.’

Even though he had only briefly seen the scan.

Kang-hyuk could immediately visualize the actual carotid artery location and align it mentally.

Part of it was his brilliance.

The rest came from experience.

Press.

The erratic blood pressure stabilized somewhat.

While squeezing the ambu bag, Jaewon asked,

“There… there?”

“Yeah. As long as there’s no other damage…”

Kang-hyuk looked toward the patient’s chest with visible concern.

Somewhere inside, the blade tip must be embedded.

‘When something like that touches the lung… it advances deeper with every breath.’

That’s because the lungs expand and contract with each breath.

So an object lodged there only burrows deeper over time.

This theoretical fact had recently gained broader recognition thanks to a case study published by Hanguk University Hospital.

‘That retired politician nearly died from acupuncture…’

The needle was supposed to be inserted into the chest, not the lung.

If it had always pierced the lung, acupuncture would be infamous for killing people.

But older individuals tend to have less muscle and subcutaneous fat.

Especially those in poor health.

The politician was quite frail, and the needle had pierced his lung.

The acupuncturist didn’t know.

Later, while placing needles elsewhere, he noticed one was missing and assumed it had fallen.

But that night, the politician began coughing with a high fever.

‘They found the needle in a CT at the ER.’

It was funny at the time.

But now he was dealing with it for real.

With a blade—not a needle.

This wasn’t a joke.

“What now?”

Jaewon continued squeezing the ambu bag and asked.

His expression showed no real concern, suggesting he hadn’t heard of that case before.

If he had, he would be hesitant—thinking about how the blade could be moving inward with every breath.

‘Dumbass…’

Kang-hyuk didn’t intend to insult him for it.

It was an old case, and the politician had been influential, so the incident had quietly disappeared.

Kang-hyuk had only learned of it by chance.

He happened to see a presentation from Hanguk University Hospital during a conference.

“What else? We place a central line, push fluids, and go straight to surgery!”

“W-What about the CT scan?”

“You check it! You think anyone else can hold pressure like this?!”

Jaewon lowered his head at Kang-hyuk’s retort.

You could argue that just pressing on a blood vessel wasn’t a big deal.

But no one dared.

No one else could do it as effectively as Kang-hyuk.

Even now, it bordered on miraculous.

“N-No, sir.”

“Anyone can squeeze the ambu bag! Hand it off and look at the scan. Got it?”

“Y-Yes.”

Just then, the technician’s voice came from the ceiling speaker.

“Scan is complete. I’ll send the CPR team in now.”

“Okay! Great job!”

“No problem, Professor!”

Before he could finish speaking, the scan room doors opened and the Emergency Medicine team rushed in.

They brought a defibrillator and emergency meds.

Technically, CPR wasn’t required yet, so Kang-hyuk gave a slightly apologetic look.

“Uh… just place a central line for now. Also, take over the ambu.”

He addressed one of the residents who had pushed in.

The resident saw the vitals and realized it wasn’t a true Code Blue.

“Yes, sir.”

If someone else had called them in, he might’ve gone off—complaining they didn’t understand vitals.

But this was Kang-hyuk.

Even if the entire Emergency Department staff gathered, no one would make faster, more accurate decisions than him.

The resident knew it in his head—and his gut.

So he simply followed orders.

“And insert a catheter! We need [In and Out] to monitor fluid balance!”

(T/N: [In and Out] refers to tracking input fluids vs. urine output.)

“I’ll handle that.”

One of the male nurses raised his hand.

Technically, catheterizing a male patient should be done by a doctor.

The longer urethra and prostate make it trickier.

But fussing over that would cost lives.

Especially in Korean ERs plagued by chronic staff shortages.

“Alright. Let’s just focus on that for now. Watch the vitals and prep vasopressors if necessary.”

“Yes, sir.”

Just like that, Kang-hyuk’s orders set everything in motion.

The central line and catheter were being placed simultaneously.

Jaewon handed off the ambu bag and rushed back into the control room to check the scan.

Kang-hyuk kept pressure on the ruptured carotid to prevent further bleeding.

“Son of a bitch.”

The person who swore wasn’t Kang-hyuk.

It was Jaewon.

“Professor! It’s… it’s pierced the aorta!”

“What?! The aorta?! God damn it!”

Kang-hyuk shouted back twice as loudly.

It was far too vulgar for a university professor.

But no one criticized him.

If a neck wound had reached the aorta, anyone would curse.

It even showed he genuinely cared about the patient.

“Hey! What’s taking so long?! We need to get to the OR now! Didn’t you hear?!”

Of course, for the ER resident getting screamed at, it was less welcome.

“Y-Yes, sir. I’ll move as fast as I can.”

“Agh, this is killing me. There! Yeah, there! Puncture there! No, dumbass! One millimeter to the side—the spot you were hesitating over earlier!”

“Y-Yes…”

If Kang-hyuk were just an arrogant jerk with no skills, it wouldn’t be so hard to take.

But everyone in the room knew the truth.

If you followed Kang-hyuk’s instructions, you’d get the central line on the first try.

At least near the ER, Kang-hyuk’s words were law, gospel, and salvation.

“Yes! That’s it! You idiot! Why are your hands shaking when I say ‘there’?”

“S-Sorry… Here, right?”

“Yeah, there. Good. Like that.”

“All the way in?”

The resident was now in his third year.

He had done this procedure dozens of times.

But in front of Kang-hyuk, he trembled like a newbie.

And compared to Kang-hyuk, that was fair.

Pop.

He did as instructed—and nailed it.

The blood wasn’t too red, and the speed was just right—not an artery.

“Good! How’s the catheter?”

“Already connected. Urine’s coming out just fine!”

“Nice, nice! Let’s move! I’ve got to keep pressure here, and Slave needs to squeeze the ambu. Someone push the bed!”

“Yes, Professor!”

The ER staff moved like extensions of his will.

If the ER chief saw this, he’d be fuming.

But that chief had long stepped away from clinical duties.

He was more focused on hospital politics.

To him, Kang-hyuk was insignificant.

Clatter.

Once again, the bed tore down the hallway with a roar.

Jang-mi, who had been anxiously waiting, took over and ran alongside it.

“Anesthesia is ready! I also prepped the heart-lung machine, just in case!”

“Good job!”

“But what happened in the scan? Why did they call a Code Blue?”

She had rushed here because of the announcement.

“Code Blue” was enough to make any medical staff’s heart drop.

“The carotid ruptured.”

“The carotid… ah, that’s why the neck…”

Jang-mi bit her lip hard, realizing the gravity of the situation.

Kang-hyuk added,

“And next is probably the aorta.”