Chapter 33

“Ha.”

Before Kang-hyuk even finished speaking, Professor Kang Junsu shook his head.

He looked utterly dumbfounded.

Even with a mask on, his disbelief was clear.

‘Thirty minutes…?’

Thinking about it logically, it was an obvious reaction.

Even a single mistake during surgery—like severing a blood vessel—required a significant amount of time to repair.

And yet, performing a transplant in just thirty minutes?

To Junsu, it was impossible to accept.

The claim was so absurd that even pointing out its absurdity felt ridiculous.

However, for someone like Jaewon, who had known Kang-hyuk for a long time, this wasn’t something he could just brush off.

“Focus, focus.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going at my own pace this time. Learn if you can. If not, oh well.”

“Ah, yes.”

With that, Kang-hyuk immediately began connecting the [renal artery] to the incised area of the [femoral artery].
(T/N: The renal artery supplies blood to the kidneys, while the femoral artery is the main blood vessel supplying blood to the leg.)

He wasn’t using a microscope, nor even [surgical loupes].
(T/N: Magnifying glasses used by surgeons for precision during procedures)

Puk.

Yet, despite that, his needle never missed its mark.

In fact, without loupes restricting his field of vision, his speed was even faster.

Puk.

A few more stitches, and before anyone realized it, the renal artery was almost completely connected.

“What are you waiting for? Cut the thread.”

Kang-hyuk urged Jaewon.

“Ah, right. Yes.”

For Jaewon, it wasn’t just about watching Kang-hyuk’s hand movements—he was struggling just to keep up with snipping the sutures.

‘I’m just cutting thread, so why can’t I keep up…?’

Wasn’t it strange?

One person was wielding a needle, seamlessly connecting the ends of severed blood vessels.

Meanwhile, he was struggling just to cut a thread.

A wave of self-doubt hit him.

‘I used to be considered fast.’

In reality, compared to his peers, Jaewon’s skills weren’t lacking.

In fact, he was among the top.

The problem was that Kang-hyuk was simply a monster.

Additionally, there was the difference between operating with the naked eye versus using loupes.

Since loupes forced a narrow field of view with high magnification, they naturally reduced depth perception.

To match the speed of someone working without loupes required an extraordinary level of effort.

“Focus more. You cut too close to the knot just now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Kang-hyuk gestured toward the patient, Lee Hye-young, with the tip of his surgical instrument.

It was a clear reminder of who Jaewon should truly feel sorry for.

After all, wasn’t it obvious?

If a surgeon failed, they wouldn’t lose their life.

But the patient could.

For an assistant like Jaewon, it was a pressure-filled statement—almost preferable to being scolded outright.

“Y-yes.”

“Still, it wasn’t terrible. Now, release the clamp.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jaewon nodded and glanced at the clock on the operating room wall.

Only about six minutes had passed.

Connecting the artery in that short a time?

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have assumed it was a lie.

Just like Professor Kim Sun-woong, who was watching in disbelief.

“Wait, you’re releasing the clamp already?”

Professor Kim Sun-woong had spent his entire career in [nephrology].
(T/N: Nephrology is the medical specialty focused on kidney care.)

He had been a professor for over ten years, but due to the lack of junior faculty, he was still stuck handling difficult new cases himself.

That’s why he was also managing the [dialysis machine] during this surgery.
(T/N: A dialysis machine filters waste and excess fluids from the blood, a function normally performed by the kidneys.)

Although rare, he had assisted in enough surgeries over the years that they were beyond counting.

But to him, this timing felt way too early.

“Professor, just focus on the dialysis. Let the lead surgeon handle the operation.”

Kang-hyuk responded curtly, turning back to his work.

For Sun-woong, it was exasperating.

“Professor Baek, this is my patient now, isn’t it? What are you planning to do, rushing through the surgery like this? Kidneys aren’t something you can just buy off a shelf…”

Kidneys were so valuable that some patients traveled all the way to China just to get a transplant.

In fact, those who even managed to get a transplant were considered lucky.

Most patients simply wasted away on dialysis until they died.

And yet, to throw away such a miracle like this?

That was absolutely unacceptable.

“Rushing? Did you just say I’m rushing?”

But the idea that Kang-hyuk would take any surgery lightly was nothing more than Sun-woong’s misconception.

Kang-hyuk had never once performed a half-hearted operation in his life.

“Don’t glare at me like that. You might make me punch you.”

“Oh? Is punching all you’d do? I could do much worse.”

Kang-hyuk twirled the scalpel in his fingers, his tone deadly serious.

Sun-woong instinctively took a few steps back.

Between the sharp glare in Kang-hyuk’s eyes and the tattoos peeking from his sleeve, he looked more like a gangster than a doctor.

For a moment, Sun-woong genuinely thought the guy might stab him, regardless of who was watching.

Even Junsu, who had nothing to do with this situation, broke out in a cold sweat.

‘I almost picked a fight with this lunatic.’

No matter how much rugby or weightlifting he did, it wouldn’t matter. (T/N: Correct me if I am wrong, Junsu in the drama is the old looking frail guy with temper issues, right?)

One stab with a scalpel, and it would be over.

Junsu suddenly felt grateful that he had held back earlier.

Meanwhile, Kang-hyuk turned back to Jaewon.

“Hik.”

“What the hell is ‘hik’ supposed to mean? Just release it already. Time’s ticking.”

Jaewon turned to look at the clock.

Another minute had passed.

To some, it might not seem like much time.

But for Kang-hyuk, it was far too long.

After all, this was someone who had completed an arterial connection in just six minutes.

“Yes, Professor.”

Jaewon quickly removed the [vascular clamp].
(T/N: A vascular clamp is used to temporarily stop blood flow during surgery.)

“Oh, god.”

Sun-woong let out a groan as if his own blood vessels were about to burst.

There was no doubt in his mind that blood would soon be spraying out of that sloppy connection.

Swoosh—

Even with his eyes closed, he could already imagine the fountain of blood.

“Good. It’s flowing well.”

But, of course, no such disaster occurred.

A powerful stream of blood surged from the [femoral artery], flowing through the [renal artery] and into the kidney before exiting through the [renal vein].

“Huh?”

Professor Kim Sun-woong blinked in disbelief, questioning whether what he was seeing was even real.

Even Professor Kang Junsu, who had been pretending not to watch from a distance, wore a similar expression.

The only ones unfazed were Kang-hyuk and Jaewon.

“I’ll secure the vein now.”

Jaewon, looking as if this was exactly what he expected, clamped the vein.

Kang-hyuk shrugged as if it were the most natural thing in the world and secured the [renal vein] with a small vessel clamp.

Then, just as before, he picked up the suturing instrument.

“Focus. Same pace as before.”

“Y-yes!”

“Don’t just answer—rinse it with saline. Veins have thin walls, so visibility is poor.”

“Ah, yes, Professor.”

Jaewon nodded and carefully flushed the vein’s cut surface with a syringe filled with [saline solution].
(T/N: Saline solution is a sterile mix of salt and water used to clean wounds and surgical sites.)

The tiny traces of blood were washed away, making the incision clearer.

Of course, to Jaewon’s naked eye, there was barely any difference.

Only with surgical loupes would the changes become noticeable.

However, Kang-hyuk’s color differentiation ability was so abnormally sharp that it might as well have been an entirely different tissue to him.

Puk.

Thanks to that, he had no hesitation in piercing the delicate, flimsy vein wall.

Puk.

The needle exited the other side just as smoothly.

“Cut it.”

“Yes.”

“Too slow, way too slow.”

“S-sorry…”

“I told you, you’re not apologizing to me.”

The situation mirrored what had happened during the artery connection.

For most surgeons, suturing a vein took nearly twice as long as an artery.

But Kang-hyuk was different.

If anything, his speed had only increased since the last step.

Or perhaps he was even faster now.

“Professor, stop watching and focus on the dialysis machine.”

“A-ah, right. Professor Baek.”

Even while operating, Kang-hyuk noticed Sun-woong staring and called him out.

Flustered, Sun-woong quickly returned to his station.

‘This isn’t arrogance, and it’s not recklessness… He’s just insanely skilled.’

He found himself reconsidering everything he had heard about Kang-hyuk.

“Alright, cut it. This is the last one.”

“Yes.”

“Release the clamp.”

“Yes, Professor.”

Unlike before, no one dared to object when Kang-hyuk ordered the clamp release.

They simply watched the sutured vessel, waiting to see if it held.

Shuk.

The moment the clamp was released, blood that had pooled in the kidney flowed seamlessly through the [renal vein] and into the [femoral vein].

Not a single drop leaked.

It was a flawless [vascular anastomosis].
(T/N: Vascular anastomosis is the surgical connection of blood vessels to allow continuous blood flow.)

Of course, for Kang-hyuk, this was just routine, so he showed no sign of pride or satisfaction.

Instead, Jaewon, whose only contribution had been cutting sutures, lifted his chin and glanced smugly at the other doctors in the room.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Catching his gaze, Professor Kang Junsu quickly shut his mouth and turned back to his own surgery.

The fractures he was treating were so severe that correction was proving difficult.

By his estimate, his operation would still take another two hours.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Professor Kim Sun-woong also turned back to the dialysis machine, nodding repeatedly.

Vrrr—

Through the temporary connection, blood was drawn from Lee Hye-young’s arm, filtered to remove waste, and then returned to her body.

In trauma patients with unstable [circulating blood volume], dialysis could sometimes do more harm than good.
(T/N: Circulating blood volume refers to the total volume of blood moving through the cardiovascular system.)

Because the machine extracted blood, it could trigger the body’s emergency response, mistaking it for active hemorrhage.

If not managed properly, a patient could die from [hypovolemic shock] caused by the dialysis itself.
(T/N: Hypovolemic shock occurs when severe blood loss prevents the heart from pumping enough blood to the body.)

Fortunately, Sun-woong was a highly competent nephrologist.

The patient’s vital signs remained stable under his watch.

“Good. Let’s connect the [ureter] now.”
(T/N: The ureter is the duct that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder.)

“Yes.”

In a kidney transplant, securing the blood supply wasn’t enough.

The ureter also had to be carefully connected to the [bladder] so that urine could be properly excreted.

Thankfully, compared to the delicate blood vessel suturing, connecting the ureter was a relatively simple task.

For Kang-hyuk, it was practically effortless.

“Alright, done.”

In less than five minutes, the connection was completed.

When he looked at the clock, only about twenty minutes had passed in total.

Kang-hyuk smiled in satisfaction.

“Anus, I kept my promise, right?”

“Yes. So can we close up and go sleep now?”

“What are you talking about? We need to check on the donor. He just saved two lives.”

“Ah…”

“You were just gonna leave without paying your respects? You really have no manners.”