Chapter 24

“Emergency Operating Room”

The red letters flashed ominously above the surgical suite adjacent to the emergency department.

It signified that surgery was currently in progress.

Until just two weeks ago, this operating room had been used maybe once a year—if at all.

Legally, hospitals were required to have at least one operating room available for emergency surgeries. But in reality, it had mostly remained idle.

That is, until Kang-hyuk arrived.

Now, it was finally living up to its name.

Or rather, it was running too frequently.

“Tube!”

Jaewon, having made an incision in the patient’s throat, extended his hand.

Without hesitation, Jang-mi handed him a plastic tube as if she had done it a thousand times before.

Not too soft, not too rigid—just the right balance to maintain the patient’s airway.

Pop!

Jaewon swiftly inserted the tube into the incision and turned to look at Jin-yong, the third-year anesthesiology resident.

“Airway secured.”

Jin-yong, who had just arrived from the anesthesiology office, acknowledged the statement with a disgruntled expression.

They had called him down after making the incision?

Wasn’t that outright disrespectful?

At this point, it felt like the trauma surgery team was picking a fight.

‘Give them an inch, and they think they own the place…’

Jin-yong had been tolerating trauma surgery’s antics lately, mostly because he was trying to avoid unnecessary conflict.

He wasn’t officially a fourth-year yet, and he didn’t want to stir up trouble.

But now, he was starting to think they were taking anesthesiology too lightly.

“Airway secured, Doctor,” Jaewon repeated, raising his voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you,” Jin-yong muttered.

Only then did he reluctantly begin to move.

He was so slow that it made everyone anxious just watching him.

Jaewon, being naturally patient, simply observed.

“Let’s see…”

Jin-yong took his time selecting medications, as if savoring Jaewon’s frustration.

The truth was, by his third year, he already knew exactly what drugs to use and how much to administer in a case like this, where blood was being pumped in at an alarming rate.

But he deliberately took his time.

“Uh, could you speed it up a little?”

Jaewon held back the urge to grab the [remifentanil] himself and throw it at him.
(T/N: Remifentanil is a potent opioid analgesic commonly used in anesthesia due to its rapid onset and short duration. Unlike other opioids, it is broken down by enzymes in the blood, allowing for quick recovery once the infusion stops.)

Jin-yong turned to face him, his expression ice-cold.

“You’re asking me to anesthetize a patient without any pre-op tests, and now you’re rushing me?”

The disdain in his voice was unmistakable.

Jaewon felt that familiar sinking dread that all surgeons felt when dealing with anesthesiology.

Because no matter how skilled a surgeon was, fighting with anesthesiology always ended badly—for surgery.

Anesthesiology had a million ways to make a surgeon’s life hell.

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“Then don’t interfere.”

“Right, sure…”

Jaewon—who was older than Jin-yong by several years—backed down.

Had Jin-yong been from the same medical school, things might have gone differently.

But in a massive institution like Hanguk University Hospital, it was common for doctors to come from different backgrounds.

“Hmm…”

Jin-yong, relishing his cheap victory, slowed his movements even further.

This time, it was Jang-mi who snapped.

“Doctor, can’t you see how critical the patient is? We’ve already transfused four units of blood! We need to open him up now, or he’s going to die!”

“What? Who do you think you’re talking to—”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? While you’re standing here showing off, we’re running around at 3 AM trying to save lives! You think you’re the only one with a stressful job?”

“Ha…”

Jin-yong let out a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief.

Doctors and nurses always had a complicated relationship.

In theory, they were equals.

In practice? Many doctors refused to see it that way.

Especially young doctors, like Jin-yong, who were just on the cusp of their fourth year—the age where they often believed they were the smartest doctors in the world.

“You must be out of your damn mind…”

He had already been irritated about being dragged out here in the middle of the night.

And now, he was getting talked back to by a nurse?

Fury boiled in his chest.

Without thinking, he took a step toward Jang-mi.

Jang-mi, realizing that an actual doctor was approaching her like this, instinctively stepped back.

“H-Hold on. I admit I was a bit harsh, but can we talk instead of—”

Jaewon quickly positioned himself between them.

Jaewon was tall enough that Jin-yong had to look up at him.

His unkempt beard and the deepening lines at the corners of his mouth made it clear—Jaewon was older.

Jin-yong finally registered that fact.

He let out a long sigh.

“Ha… Doctor Yang, you do realize how much patience we have with trauma surgery, right?”

“I do. And we appreciate it, truly.”

“Every single day, we have our scheduled surgeries, and then you guys shove emergency cases in between them. Do you have any idea how stressful that is? We have schedules to keep too!”

“I understand. Completely.”

“And that mad dog—I mean, Professor Baek Kang-hyuk—just yells all the time. And now your nurses are acting like this too?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize on her behalf. But could you at least start anesthesia now?”

Jaewon glanced at the patient.

Despite Kang-hyuk’s emergency intervention stabilizing the vital signs, things weren’t looking good.

The patient’s abdomen—previously swollen—was starting to turn blue.

[Tissue death.]
(T/N: Tissue death (necrosis) happens when cells die due to lack of blood flow, oxygen, or infection. It can lead to serious complications if not treated.)

If they didn’t operate immediately, the patient would die.

He was probably going to die anyway, but at least surgery gave him a chance.

“First.”

Jin-yong ignored the patient and instead pointed at Jang-mi.

“Tell me her name and department. I’ll be filing a formal complaint through the department head tomorrow.”

And then—

Rattle.

The sound echoed through the room.

The tightly shut doors of the operating room swung open.

“What the hell are you all standing around for? Why isn’t the anesthesia done yet?”

Kang-hyuk stormed in, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room.

His eyes, as always, burned with an intense, unwavering focus.

Water dripped from his upraised hands—he had already scrubbed in, fully expecting to start surgery the moment he arrived.

Of course, he assumed anesthesia was done and all preparations were complete.

“Ah, Professor. We were just about to begin anesthesia.”

Jaewon glossed over the details, knowing that explaining the whole ordeal would only make Kang-hyuk furious.

But what Jaewon didn’t know was that Kang-hyuk had excellent hearing.

And that he had already heard everything.

“You. Anesthesiology. What’s your name?”

Instead of responding to Jaewon, Kang-hyuk locked eyes with Jin-yong.

“Uh…”

Jin-yong froze.

He, along with many other anesthesiology residents and fellows, had already run countless mental simulations of how they would handle a confrontation with Kang-hyuk.

Ever since the stories of Hwang Sun-woo’s humiliation at his hands had spread like wildfire, Kang-hyuk had become the villain of anesthesiology.

They had all thought, ‘If I ever meet him, I’ll destroy him with logic.’

But now, standing face-to-face with the real Baek Kang-hyuk, Jin-yong’s mind went blank.

Sure, Kang-hyuk’s face was intimidating.

But it was the tattoos on his arms that were overwhelmingly threatening.

“If you can’t answer, then shut up and do your job. And don’t question others if you can’t even respond yourself.”

“Ah… Yes, sir.”

“And if your department has a problem, tell your chief to talk to me directly. If you search my name, my number comes up. Got it?”

“Y-Yes, Professor.”

Jin-yong, completely deflated, trudged back toward the anesthesia machine.

As much as he wanted to find a way to snitch to his department head, he knew one thing—

He wouldn’t be stalling any further.

No one had the guts to mess around in front of Kang-hyuk.

“Anesthesia… complete.”

“Good. Hurry up, scrub in and get back in here. I’ll set the surgical drapes myself.”
(T/N: Wow. This is more intense than in the drama.)

Still holding his hands up, Kang-hyuk jerked his chin toward the patient’s abdomen.

Jaewon, wiping down the patient’s belly with betadine, responded.

“Yes, Professor.”

Meanwhile, Jang-mi assisted Kang-hyuk in putting on his surgical gown.

As she did, he glanced down at her.

“Hey, gangster.”

“Agh… Even in here, Professor?”

“Listen. Just because I call you gangster doesn’t mean you get to pick fights with people.”

“What?”

“If you have a problem, tell me. Fighting is my job. You just focus on what you’re told to do.”

“Oh… Yes, Professor. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Just do your damn job properly.”

After donning his gloves, Kang-hyuk stepped toward the patient.

The abdomen was even more swollen than before.

“Goddamn it. Give me the drapes.”

“Here.”

“Anesthesiology, keep an eye on his vitals—especially blood pressure.”

“A-Ah, yes, sir…”

By the time the surgical drapes were in place, Jaewon had returned, still dripping water from his hands.

But Kang-hyuk didn’t wait for him to finish gowning up—he picked up the scalpel and sliced open the patient’s abdomen.

A single, clean incision—

From the bottom of the sternum, past the navel, down to just above the pubic bone.

He did it all in one go without lifting the blade.

“Electrocautery.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Anus, get in here. I’m not doing this damn surgery alone.”

“Yes, Professor!”

As soon as Jaewon finished scrubbing in, he grabbed a pair of gloves and hurried to Kang-hyuk’s side.

The acrid scent of burning fat filled the room.

Sizzle.

Occasionally, droplets of liquefied fat spattered onto the sterile drapes.

Kang-hyuk didn’t even flinch as he cauterized down to the peritoneum.

Thud.

Just before Kang-hyuk could cut into the peritoneum, Jaewon stepped in and widened the incision site.

A small act, but invaluable for the lead surgeon.

Sizzle.

Without a word of praise or criticism, Kang-hyuk smoothly incised the peritoneum.

“Watch his vitals.”

This time, he directed his words at Jin-yong.

Now that he was actively involved, Jin-yong couldn’t afford to slack off.

He nodded and stared intently at the monitor.

At this point, he couldn’t completely distance himself from the surgery’s outcome.

Moreover, since they had started operating without any patient history, he was especially tense.

Scraaaaape.

As soon as the peritoneum opened, a flood of dark, clotted blood gushed out.

“Suction. Focus on clearing out the existing blood for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

After assigning that task to Jaewon, Kang-hyuk turned to Jang-mi.

“Increase the transfusion rate. We still have more blood packs, right?”

“Yes, five packs left.”

“Order ten more. The color of this blood… isn’t good.”

“Ten… packs?”

That was nearly the entire blood volume of an adult male.

Which meant—

This patient had already lost nearly all of his own blood and was running on transfusions alone.

Would that even be enough to keep him alive?

It didn’t matter.

The fact that the patient had made it this far meant that they had to try.

That was what it meant to be part of the Severe Trauma Team.

“I’ll call the blood bank now.”

“Good.”

Kang-hyuk hadn’t taken his eyes off the surgical field for even a second.

To others, it would have looked like just a pool of dark red blood.

But he was analyzing it.

No—

He was identifying something.

‘Where is it…? Which part is brighter?’