Chapter 159

               

“Tch.”

“What, you idiot?”

At Kang-hyuk’s remark, Jaewon shook his head in disbelief.

So Kang-hyuk gently stepped on his foot in retaliation.

“Urgh.”

Jaewon let out a pained groan and thought to himself,
‘How does it hurt this bad ‘every’ time?’

It wasn’t just the pain that surprised him.

Despite how much it hurt, he had never actually gotten injured from it.

Not once had his surgical gown or any part of the sterile field been compromised.

It was as if Kang-hyuk had received specialized training in “how to hit effectively in an OR.”

“Don’t space out. Get up here. We still need to fix the arm.”

“Ah, yes…”

Jaewon nodded, stunned, and followed Kang-hyuk.

“Argh.”

But Kang-hyuk stepped on the same foot again, making him freeze mid-step.

When Jaewon looked up, Kang-hyuk was already watching with a face that said, ‘How pathetic.’

“W-why…?”

“Why? That’s ‘my’ line.”

“Sorry, what?”

Jaewon asked, looking genuinely confused.

Not just him—the entire OR staff wore the same expression.

‘Is he the kind of guy who gets violent when he’s in a bad mood?’

Captain Lee Dong-joo, who had come up early, was even starting to wonder this.

It might’ve seemed extreme, but it wasn’t entirely uncommon for OR professors to vent through verbal abuse.

Captain Lee had trained under that kind of professor himself.

Compared to them, Kang-hyuk was almost mild.

“Don’t know what you’re doing? Is this the part ‘you’ were working on?”

“Huh?”

Jaewon looked around in utter confusion.

It took about 10 seconds before he realized.

He’d gone to the left arm.

Kang-hyuk was gesturing toward the right arm with his chin.

“Ah.”

“Don’t ‘ah’ me. Go finish what you started. You were doing a decent imitation earlier.”

“Ah, understood, Professor.”

Depending on how you heard it, that could’ve been a complete insult…

Or maybe even high praise.

Luckily, Jaewon was the optimistic type.

‘He’s finally acknowledging me.’

That “imitation” must’ve meant he had done something similar to Kang-hyuk.

Or so Jaewon convinced himself.

You might think he was crazy.

But to survive in trauma surgery—
especially in one as brutal as this—
you needed a top-tier mental shield.

Jaewon had a natural gift.

“You, pull here. This side’s ten times harder than the other.”

Kang-hyuk shifted his gaze away from Jaewon, who was already floating on cloud nine.

‘That dumbass probably has no idea why he never gets compliments.’

Any time there was even a hint of praise in a sentence, the guy would light up.

Even if all his brain cells were dead, the one that detects compliments would still be twitching.

“Like this? Should I pull here?”

“Yeah. Not too hard. There’s a lot of inflammation—it’ll tear.”

“Got it.”

“Exactly that amount. Don’t change it.”

Kang-hyuk warned Captain Lee as he was about to apply traction.

Naturally, Lee’s face filled with doubt.

“Wait, but then…”

He didn’t say it aloud, but the implication was: ‘The view’s going to suck.’

Kang-hyuk gave him a knowing nod, like he’d read his mind.

“It’s fine. I already saw everything on the CT anyway.”

“Wait, so…”

That meant Kang-hyuk had already fully mapped out the internal structure from the CT scan alone.

It sounded absurd.

But for someone who had already performed miracles, it was hard to doubt him now.

“Forceps.”

“Yes.”

“No, the [Adson forceps].”

“Ah… yes.”

Instead of the large instrument Jang-mi handed over, Kang-hyuk reached for the small, toothed [Adson forceps].

Despite their teeth, these smaller tools actually reduced tissue damage due to their precision.

In fact, some studies claimed that toothed forceps were safer than smooth ones for certain tissues.

“Alright.”

Using the small instrument, Kang-hyuk reached into a barely visible crevice and began treating the wound.

The forearm was far more complex than the upper arm or thigh.

After all, it had two bones, and both moved in an intricately coordinated way.

“Hmm… The artery I tied earlier is still intact.”

Kang-hyuk carefully exposed the previously tied artery.

Even though it had been clamped, it was still pulsing.

Meaning blood flow hadn’t been completely cut off.

‘The vein… yeah, I’ll use this one.’

Most surgeons avoided forearm surgeries because of their complexity.

But that complexity also had its advantages.

So many interconnected vessels meant you could sacrifice one or two without major consequences.

“Cleaned the leg earlier. Hmm.”

Kang-hyuk paused to consider.

To fully fix the forearm fracture now would add a lot more time to the surgery.

Sure, it would save them another procedure later…

But was that really worth it under the current conditions?

‘Let’s check on Slave.’

If that idiot was struggling, the surgery was going to be long anyway.

Might as well finish this part now too.

‘Bet he’s messing it up.’

Kang-hyuk turned toward Jaewon, expecting a mess.

“Oh?”

But Jaewon had a knack for betraying expectations.

He was finishing up the fracture repair almost perfectly.

He’d neatly trimmed and avoided the [circumflex artery] and cleared the nerve pathways safely to the side.

“Pretty good, huh?”

Jaewon beamed proudly and pointed at his work.

Normally, Kang-hyuk would’ve praised him right away.

But not this time.

“Yeah, dumbass.”

He’d secretly hoped Jaewon would be slower.

“Huh?”

Jaewon quickly checked the surgical site, wondering if he had made a mistake.

But there wasn’t one.

Kang-hyuk was annoyed because he had done ‘too well’.

“Alright, you buzzkill. Set the bone and secure it. Done?”

“Yeah, right. Hehe.”

Kang-hyuk stared blankly at Jaewon’s giggling face, then nodded slowly.

‘Right… If I get greedy and drag this out, I could screw everything up. In Captain Lee Hyun-jong’s state, long surgeries are dangerous.’

You could argue that the ICU and the OR weren’t that different, but…

There was a world of difference between ‘being sedated’ and ‘being under general anesthesia’.

Prolonged anesthesia was far from ideal.

“Captain Lee. Hold the shoulder. Let’s finish this and get out.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang-hyuk decided to let go of his ambition.

It might feel good to wrap up everything in one go.

But not every situation allowed for that.

‘In this surgery… let’s be satisfied with saving a life.’

Restoring quality of life would come later.

With that thought, his mind felt lighter.

“Just like before. I pull, you guide.”

“Understood.”

“It’s cleaned and prepped, so there shouldn’t be much resistance. But if something catches, say it immediately. That could be bad.”

“Yes!”

Jaewon, being who he was, lit up the moment he heard “prepped well.”

The slightest praise brightened him like a sunrise.

“Yes, pulling now.”

Kang-hyuk turned his eyes away from the glowing Jaewon and gently pulled Captain Lee’s thick forearm.

Because of all the fluid they’d infused to keep his blood pressure stable, his hand was puffy.

When Kang-hyuk saw the hand hold its shape after his grip, he nodded.

‘Yeah. It’s time to wrap this up.’

It confirmed his earlier decision.

“Alright. How’s it lining up?”

“Yes, keep pulling just like that. Yes—yes! Right there!”

Jaewon wasn’t sure if he was guiding or narrating.

Kang-hyuk’s movement was just ‘that’ perfect.

“There. Letting go now. Good?”

“Yes, it’s positioned well.”

“Nothing stuck?”

“Nope!”

“Okay. Fix it in place.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jaewon smiled as he saw how well everything aligned.

Then, using the drill Jang-mi handed him, he secured it—just like he had with the leg.

The [humerus] was thinner than the [femur], so it wasn’t ‘easy’—

But the earlier experience helped. It wasn’t that hard either.

“Hmph. Good enough.”

And Kang-hyuk seemed satisfied too.

That acknowledgment made Jaewon feel like he was walking on clouds.

Overwhelmed by pride, he even said something unnecessary:

“Shall I close it up?”

He hadn’t even waited for Jang-mi—he picked up the suturing tool himself.

“You out of your mind?”

And just like that, Kang-hyuk’s insult snapped him out of it.

“Huh?”

“How long was that bullet lodged in there? You think we can just close it like this? What if it festers inside?”

“Ah…”

“You act like it’s not your body and do whatever you want, huh?”

“No, I didn’t mean—”

“Leave the wound open. We’ll just do [Betadine soaking] and move on.”

“Yes, sir…”

Thinking it over, Kang-hyuk was absolutely right.

It would’ve been reckless to close a wound in this condition.

Sure, you’d close the abdomen to protect internal organs, but limbs?

As long as you did proper [Betadine soaking], it was fine to leave them open.

“Alright, wrap it up. Gyeongwon—”

Kang-hyuk turned to signal Gyeongwon to start waking the patient.

But Gyeongwon was already done and gave a thumbs-up.

Behind him, the anesthesia monitor showed only two fingers.

They’d already transitioned to light sedation.

“Alright, let’s move him.”

Outside, the ICU bed had arrived.

Jang-mi had called ahead—no longer just assisting, she was anticipating every move like a true surgical nurse.

A perfectly coordinated team. (T/N: They all worked so good together!!)

“Okay. Transfer.”

They moved Captain Lee Hyun-jong to the ICU bed without delay.

‘Click-clack.’

As they wheeled him out, Kang-hyuk noticed the crowd of reporters gathered near the ICU.

Fortunately, it wasn’t chaotic like before.

At least they were respecting the photo line.

But that didn’t mean it was quiet.

“Professor Baek! What’s the patient’s current condition?”

“There are suspicions the patient’s condition is critical!”

“Are you sure your skills are enough? Are you risking his life for personal fame?”

Perhaps because of the earlier middle finger, the press wasn’t being very friendly.

Jaewon, though not the one being questioned, shrank under the pressure and glanced nervously at Kang-hyuk.

But Kang-hyuk was standing tall—more confident than ever.

He looked over at Jaewon and said:

“Hey, go settle the patient and clean up.”

“P-Professor, what about you…?”

“I’m gonna go deal with those bastards.”