Chapter 35

Only two outpatients.

And it was an outpatient session for a university hospital professor.

It was a number so dismal that it could only be described as a catastrophe.

But given the nature of trauma surgery, this was inevitable.

Trauma wasn’t the kind of condition one could schedule in advance.

That meant the only people who came to this clinic were those who had suffered serious injuries at some point, had met Baek Kang-hyuk in the emergency room, and had somehow survived.

“Two people, huh…”

Thanks to that, Baek Kang-hyuk could roughly guess who the patients were.

‘The patient with tension pneumothorax and the one who fell. It must be them.’

He reminisced about the two patients he had seen on his first day at this hospital as he sat down.

On his desk, a capsule coffee and a Bacchus energy drink were neatly placed, prepared in advance by his assistant.

“Oh, thanks. I’ll drink it well.”

Baek Kang-hyuk lifted the coffee and expressed his gratitude.

The assistant waved him off with a dismissive hand.

“You always look like a zombie. What time did you sleep yesterday?”

“7:40.”

“Wow, that’s early for once?”

“Oh, today. 7:40 AM today.”

“Huh?”

The assistant blinked in confusion for a moment.

Then, after finally understanding what Baek Kang-hyuk meant, he let out a deep sigh.

“Professor, you’re going to die at this rate. You should say something to the higher-ups.”

“If I don’t take the night shifts, someone else will literally die. There’s no other choice. Once I train some competent juniors, it’ll get a bit better.”

“Competent juniors, huh…”

The assistant muttered, thinking of Yang Jaewon.

Yang Jaewon, better known as Anus, had once been quite popular in the outpatient department.

He had decent looks, always dressed neatly, and had an abundance of manners.

But now? He was just a wreck.

It was a miracle if he even managed to shave.

“You do know that Dr. Yang looks like hell these days, right?”

The assistant sipped his coffee.

With only two outpatient appointments today, they had plenty of time to chat.

Unlike other consultation rooms, there was no one waiting outside Baek Kang-hyuk’s office.

If someone was sitting there, 100% chance they were waiting for another department next door.

“Dr. Yang? Who’s that?”

Baek Kang-hyuk, sipping his coffee, asked back.

The assistant shook his head in disbelief.

“Yang Jaewon. Don’t tell me you only recognize him as Anus?”

“Oh, Anus. Yeah, he’s in a rough state. You’d think he was performing every surgery in the hospital by himself.”

“Professor… you’re the weird one here.”

The assistant stared at Baek Kang-hyuk, who, despite pulling an all-nighter, still looked perfectly neat.

Aside from looking slightly tired, there was nothing off about him.

His face was cleanly shaved without a hint of stubble, and his hair, naturally wavy, looked as if it had been professionally styled.

People who didn’t know better would assume he had gotten a perm.

“What?”

Baek Kang-hyuk casually ran a hand over his smooth jawline.

His perfectly sculpted face could put actors to shame.

“No, never mind. Anyway, please take care of Dr. Yang. I think he’s about to drop dead.”

“He’s way younger than me. What’s with the whining?”

“Professor, you’re not normal. No human can keep up with your schedule.”

“Hmm.”

Despite his words, Baek Kang-hyuk understood.

Humans weren’t built to be pushed this hard without breaking down.

“Well then, if there aren’t any more patients today, should we let Anus take a break?”

Of course, it wasn’t out of humanitarian concern.

‘He needs to last longer so I can use him more.’

The assistant, unaware of Baek Kang-hyuk’s true intentions, smiled brightly.

“Yes, let him rest a bit.”

“Alright, sure. When’s our next appointment? Is it soon?”

“Yeah, in a bit… Oh, the patient just checked in.”

“That so?”

“Yes.”

Hearing this, Baek Kang-hyuk turned his monitor.

Indeed, a familiar name popped up on the registration list.

It was the patient Baek Kang-hyuk had personally flown in with Yang Jaewon on a helicopter.

“Let them in.”

“Understood.”

The assistant stepped out and called the patient’s name.

The patient walked in on both feet without hesitation.

If the rescue team who had seen him during the operation were here, they’d call it a miracle.

Back then, his injuries were so severe that just surviving was considered lucky.

But now, he looked completely fine.

It was unbelievable.

“Hmm. Well, you seem alright.”

However, the person who had actually treated him, Baek Kang-hyuk, looked completely unfazed.

His indifferent attitude made the patient question whether his injuries had even been that bad in the first place.

“Yes, I’ve even started exercising again.”

“Well, there’s no reason not to. Just don’t get injured again.”

“Yeah, I’m staying away from mountains for good.”

“No need to go that far…”

“No, I mean it. Never again.”

“Well, do as you like. Let’s go over your test results.”

Saying that, Baek Kang-hyuk double-clicked on the patient’s name and pulled up the examination results.

The patient had undergone numerous tests, including blood tests, Brain CT, Chest PA, Chest CT, and ECG.

Baek Kang-hyuk started with the blood test results.

“First of all, your blood work is completely normal. Liver and kidney functions are all good. No issues.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Your brain CT as well… There’s barely any sign of the trauma. See this small white spot here?”

“Where… Ah, yes.”

“That’s where the blood vessel ruptured. But since it’s so small, you won’t experience any aftereffects. You probably don’t feel anything unusual, right?”

Hearing this, the patient flexed his hands and moved his body.

He hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary before, but now that he was in front of the doctor, he felt the urge to double-check.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Your ECG looks good too. Your CT scans only show surgical scars, but everything else is fine. Just come back once more in six months, and if everything looks good then, you won’t have to see me again.”

The happiest goodbye in the world was the one between a patient and their doctor.

Both the doctor and the patient looked forward to that day.

Of course, there was also the possibility of parting through death, but that was usually considered an exception.

“Thank you. Really… thank you. I heard you personally flew in with the helicopter, but I was too out of it during my hospital stay to say anything…”

“No need for that. That’s just how trauma surgery works.”

“That’s just how it is? I’ve never heard of that before.”

“Anyway, you’re recovering really well. Want to take a photo to mark the occasion?”

“A photo?”

The patient looked at Baek Kang-hyuk in surprise.

Now that he thought about it, there were quite a few photos pinned behind him.

They were all pictures taken with foreign patients—it seemed like he made a habit of taking pictures with those he treated.

It didn’t seem like there was any real reason to refuse.

It was a small request from the man who had saved his life.

“Sure.”

“Thanks. One photo, please.”

“Yes, professor.”

At Baek Kang-hyuk’s request, the assistant smoothly pulled out a camera—a Polaroid, handed to him by the professor himself.

It wasn’t like the assistant particularly enjoyed this side job of taking pictures.

But what could he do?

This was the only hobby of a professor who worked himself to death.

“Alright, here we go. One, two, three!”

The assistant ended up doing this twice that day.

The patient who had undergone lung resection for tension pneumothorax also returned fully recovered, and Baek Kang-hyuk wanted a picture with him as well.

“Why do you even keep these?”

At around 11:50 AM, as they wrapped up the outpatient sessions and were about to leave, the assistant finally asked what had been on his mind.

If he didn’t ask now, he probably wouldn’t get another chance.

“Oh, this?”

Baek Kang-hyuk casually waved the two Polaroid photos in the air before turning to the assistant.

‘Damn.’

The assistant’s heart dropped for a second.

Baek Kang-hyuk was smiling—a smile he would never normally make.

Still holding that unnerving smile, Baek Kang-hyuk spoke.

“If I didn’t have these, I wouldn’t be able to keep doing trauma surgery.”

“Ah…”

The assistant didn’t really know just how brutal Baek Kang-hyuk and Yang Jaewon’s work schedule was.

Seeing patients all night, running outpatient clinics, then checking on inpatients every day—it was beyond exhausting.

But something about what Baek Kang-hyuk said made the assistant feel a strange emotion he couldn’t quite put into words.

It wasn’t something he could easily relate to, but he felt it nonetheless.

“Alright, see you next week.”

“Yes, professor. Please, get some rest.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean it. Rest.”

Despite the assistant’s repeated pleas, Baek Kang-hyuk walked out of the clinic and headed straight for the convenience store.

He planned to grab a quick meal—probably a triangular kimbap—and then go directly to the ICU.

By coincidence, Yang Jaewon had the same idea.

The two ran into each other at the fresh food section.

“Oh, Anus?”

“Ah, professor.”

“You eat this too?”

“Yeah, well… if I go to the cafeteria, I have to wait. Waste of time.”

“That’s true. Perfect timing then. Let’s eat on the way to the ICU. We’ll check on the prescriptions, and if we can, let’s take a break today.”

Yang Jaewon froze, his mouth slightly open.

Did he just hear that right?

Was Baek Kang-hyuk talking about taking a break?

Was this a dream?

“What are you doing? Hurry up and pick something.”

“O-Oh! Right, I’ll grab something.”

At Baek Kang-hyuk’s impatient tone, Yang Jaewon hurriedly picked up whatever was closest and followed him out.

The two doctors finished their meal on the stairs before heading into the emergency ICU.

Of course, the ICU wasn’t very large—it only had three beds.

As soon as they entered, they immediately saw Cheon Jang-mi and the patient.

“Professor, you’re here.”

Even Cheon Jang-mi looked exhausted.

She had managed to catch some sleep in the morning, but an all-nighter was still an all-nighter—there was no overcoming the fatigue that came with it.

“Hey, gangster. You’re keeping up with infection control, right?”

“Of course. We’re a small but elite team. We’re doing it properly.”

“Good. Keep it up.”

Baek Kang-hyuk nodded in satisfaction.

Wearing a disposable gown, mask, cap, and shoe covers was a hassle for medical staff, but it was a lifesaver for patients.

“Alright, let’s go over the prescriptions I wrote.”

With a satisfied expression, Baek Kang-hyuk pointed at the medical orders he had given.

It was rare for a professor to personally explain the meaning and reasoning behind their prescriptions.

Naturally, not only Yang Jaewon and Cheon Jang-mi, but also the nurses gathered around.

“The most important thing for this patient is to watch for signs of [disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)]. That’s why I keep ordering this test.”
(T/N: A severe condition where blood clots form throughout the body’s small vessels, depleting clotting factors and leading to uncontrolled bleeding.)

“Ah…”

Some of the staff started taking notes.

No one knew better than them just how skilled Baek Kang-hyuk was.

Just as his explanation continued—

Click.

The ICU door swung open.

Two people entered.

Han Yoo-rim, the surgery department chief, and Hong Jae-hoon, the current infectious disease professor and administrative director.

They stormed in, looking absolutely furious.

“Professor Baek! Are you in here?!”