Chapter 42

“Why are we bringing up Muan University? We’re talking about money here.”

“Money? Yeah, that’s right. You’re talking big while we’re sitting here racking up deficits. What exactly are you so proud of that you’re talking back like that?”

“If a department is in deficit, are we not allowed to speak? Then does that mean the departments of cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics have no right to voice their opinions here?”

“No, no. Why are you dragging other departments into this? Do you really think trauma surgery is the same as them?”

“What’s so different? We’re all in the business of saving lives.”

Kang-hyuk said as he looked around at the professors from cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics—all departments he had just mentioned.

They were all devoted professionals, committed to saving lives—what the world would call ‘real doctors.’

And yet, in a room full of doctors, they sat there like criminals, silent as if their tongues had been cut.

Because from the hospital’s operational standpoint, they were nothing more than useless liabilities running deficits.

“Hmm!”

One of the cardiothoracic surgery professors made eye contact with Kang-hyuk and immediately nodded his head.

“Ahem, ahem.”

But the moment Han Yoo-rim shot him a glare, he turned away and cleared his throat instead.

After silencing his colleague with sheer presence, Han Yoo-rim turned back to Kang-hyuk.

Unlike the cardiothoracic professor, Kang-hyuk didn’t avert his gaze.

“Look, Professor Baek. In total, you’ve operated on thirty patients in trauma surgery. Thirty.”

“I know. I keep track of the charts myself.”

Kang-hyuk nodded, recalling how he had been performing at least two surgeries a day for the past few weeks.

And not once had it been a simple procedure.

Those kinds of patients never even made it to trauma surgery in the first place.

Every surgery he performed was a matter of life and death.

Doing two of those a day?

That was nothing short of absurd.

But Han Yoo-rim had a different perspective.

“Just thirty patients, and your department has racked up a four-billion-won deficit. The cardiothoracic surgery department performs over two hundred surgeries a year. Yet you’re handling barely a sixth of that and losing even more money. What do you think happens if this keeps up for a year?”

The deficit would balloon into the tens of billions.

For a department with just three surgeons, this was an outrageous amount of financial loss.

Han Yoo-rim felt a wave of dizziness just thinking about reporting this to the board.

Kang-hyuk, however, remained unfazed.

“That just means I’ll be saving more lives. If this keeps up, I’ll have treated six hundred patients by the end of the year.”

“That’s not the point!”

“This is a hospital faculty meeting. If we’re not talking about treating patients, then what else should we be discussing?”

“Haa…”

Han Yoo-rim let out a deep sigh.

Tap, tap.

Professor Hong Jae-hoon, the chief of planning, patted him on the shoulder.

For some reason, even Director Choi Jo-eun wasn’t stepping in to side with Kang-hyuk.

‘The Minister was right. Strengthening the Severe Trauma Center is necessary.’

But was it worth sustaining tens of billions in losses every year?

That was another question entirely.

And beyond just financial losses, Kang-hyuk’s actions had cost the hospital in other ways over the past two weeks.

“I’ve been watching, but this young man has no manners.”

A sharp voice cut through the tension.

Director Choi Jo-eun sighed, as if he had been expecting this moment, and turned toward the speaker.

Professor Jin Tae-rim, the head of anesthesiology, was glaring at Kang-hyuk.

‘Oh, boy.’

Anesthesiology.

Patients wouldn’t understand just how much power this department held in a university hospital.

Not only was their staff large, but in terms of influence over surgical departments, they were practically untouchable.

Because anesthesiology controlled access to the operating rooms.

“Professor Baek. I’ve been hearing stories about you from my people. I was going to reserve judgment until I saw for myself. But now that I have, I see they were being generous.”

Jin Tae-rim clicked her tongue in disapproval.

Her expression alone suggested she was holding back a storm of expletives.

The surgical department heads instinctively tensed.

There was no benefit in antagonizing anesthesiology.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

But Kang-hyuk remained unfazed.

He hadn’t done anything wrong—he was certain of that.

“What am I trying to say? Are you really asking because you don’t know? You performed thirty surgeries in the past two weeks, didn’t you?”

“Yes. It was tough.”

“All of them were emergencies!”

“Yes, you’re well-informed. It was exhausting.”

“Do you even realize how much hell you put my anesthesiology residents through? Everything has to run on a tight schedule, but you kept cramming in emergency surgeries every day. And on top of that, you threw your weight around and gave them hell. Do you have any idea how much stress they’re under?”

Jin Tae-rim was practically half-standing now, fuming.

She had no ambitions of rising above department head.

But she did have one principle: “As long as I’m in charge, my department won’t take a loss.”

That conviction made her a near-militant force within the hospital.

The surgical department heads, who had been quietly watching until now, began turning their backs entirely, distancing themselves from the brewing conflict.

“Hahaha.”

And Kang-hyuk?

He laughed.

Out loud.

It was such an unexpected reaction that everyone’s eyes widened.

Even Jin Tae-rim, who had been fuming just a second ago, looked momentarily taken aback.

“Are you laughing? You’re laughing?”

“Well, of course. You’re saying ridiculous things. How could I not laugh?”

“What?!”

“You’re complaining that unexpected surgeries forced your residents into emergency operations, making their lives miserable. That’s what this is about, right?”

“Yes! That’s exactly it! Every single day!”

Emergency surgeries, every day.

Of course, the lead surgeon wasn’t the only one suffering.

The entire surgical team had to endure it.

No surgery could be performed alone.

And given the severity of Kang-hyuk’s cases, that was even truer.

But that wasn’t Kang-hyuk’s concern.

Kang-hyuk believed that if a patient needed surgery, then it simply had to be done.

If anything, he had his own grievances.

“Have you ever considered that I suffered because of those stand-in residents you kept shoving into my OR?”

“What? Stand-in?”

“Yes, stand-in. [Using a hypotensive drug during induction on a patient with severe hemorrhage], [failing to administer vasopressors to a patient undergoing surgery for a cardiac rupture], [forcing intubation on a patient with a head injury]… If I hadn’t been there, some of your kids would’ve turned into murderers.”

– (T/N: Using a hypotensive drug during anesthesia induction in a severely bleeding patient can cause a fatal drop in blood pressure, leading to cardiac arrest. Instead, fluid resuscitation and vasopressors should be used to stabilize circulation.)
– (T/N: A cardiac rupture causes severe internal bleeding and dangerously low blood pressure. Without vasopressors, the patient risks hypovolemic shock and organ failure. Maintaining blood pressure is critical for survival.)
– (T/N: In traumatic brain injury, forced intubation can spike intracranial pressure, worsening brain swelling and increasing the risk of [brain herniation] (Brain herniation is a life-threatening condition where increased pressure in the skull forces brain tissue to shift abnormally, compressing vital areas like the brainstem). Proper sedation and airway management are needed to prevent further damage.)

“Murder? Are you insane?!”

“Oh. You’re pretty good at cursing. So am I. Want to hear a few?”

Kang-hyuk loosened his tongue, clearly about to unleash a string of obscenities.

And when Kang-hyuk claimed to be good at something, it was never an empty boast.

Sensing the brewing disaster, Director Choi Jo-eun quickly stepped in.

“Alright, alright! Let’s all calm down. There’s no place for profanity in a professional setting, is there?”

The director’s authority was immense.

Not only did he control personnel matters at Hanguk University Hospital, but he also had sway over the entire network of affiliated hospitals nationwide.

In other words, the professors here held their trainees’ futures in their hands, but their own careers ultimately rested in his hands.

That was the real reason why professors could exploit their trainees so freely.

Because they held the key to their future employment.

And those future job placements? They were determined by Director Choi Jo-eun.

Which meant that even the fearsome head of anesthesiology, Jin Tae-rim, had no choice but to take a step back.

“My apologies, Director. I misspoke.”

“It’s alright. I understand. You were just passionate about the hospital’s well-being, and in the heat of the moment, emotions ran high.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Now, moving on…”

After elegantly de-escalating the situation, Director Choi Jo-eun turned his attention to Kang-hyuk.

“Professor Baek, you’ve worked tirelessly in the trauma department, treating severe trauma patients. Your efforts are commendable.”

“Thank you for recognizing that.”

“But… aren’t you overdoing it? Thirty patients in fifteen days. Trauma surgery isn’t some simple [tonsillectomy] you can perform back-to-back.”
(T/N: [Tonsillectomy] is the surgical removal of the tonsils, usually for chronic infections or breathing issues. It’s a routine, low-risk procedure.)

“I’m fully capable. No issues on my end. The patients’ prognoses are good too.”

Hearing that, Director Choi Jo-eun found himself unconsciously nodding.

According to the reports, not a single patient Kang-hyuk operated on had died, nor had any suffered severe complications.

The man was a surgical prodigy.

But even so, this couldn’t continue unchecked.

At this rate, trauma surgery would become a bottomless money pit.

“However, surgery isn’t a one-man show. Would you agree?”

“That’s… true.”

“In my opinion, you should coordinate with anesthesiology, the OR team, the planning director, and the heads of the surgical departments… and work on reducing your case load.”

“Coordinate?”

As soon as Kang-hyuk spoke, Planning Director Hong Jae-hoon eagerly grabbed the microphone.

“Yes, just as the Director suggested, coordination is necessary. While it’s true that the Ministry of Health and Welfare has provided funding, as Professor Baek mentioned, the purpose of that funding is not to cover patient-related losses, but to establish proper systems and infrastructure.”

“Systems and infrastructure…”

Kang-hyuk scoffed, his expression dripping with skepticism, but Hong Jae-hoon continued unfazed.

“That’s why 90 billion won has already been allocated to emergency medicine, nursing staff, radiology, anesthesiology, and other new personnel, as well as for purchasing ECMO machines, portable X-rays, C-arms, and emergency MRI and CT equipment.”

“And who exactly decided that?”

“This has already passed an audit by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. It’s not something Professor Baek has any say over. Oh, and part of that budget also covers… uh, what’s his name again? Right, Yang Jaewon’s salary.”

“Ah, Anus.”

“…Right. Anyway, the remaining 10 billion won will be allocated to covering the trauma department’s financial deficit. Considering you’ve already racked up a 4 billion won deficit, you’ll have to manage the rest of the year with the remaining 6 billion won.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Hearing Kang-hyuk’s muttered curse, Han Yoo-rim, the head of surgery, shot up from his seat.

“Hey, the planning director is making a concession, and you’re swearing at him?”

“How could I not? They just stole 90 billion out of 100 billion!”

“Stole?! Have you lost your— What the hell—?”

Han Yoo-rim was about to explode when his phone, which had been ringing persistently, interrupted him.

Irritated, he pulled it out and snapped at the caller.

“Hey, don’t you know I’m in a meeting?! Who the hell keeps calling?!”

He cut the call immediately.

But the phone rang again.

A frown formed on Han Yoo-rim’s face.

The caller was a third-year resident.

One who would soon be promoted to fourth-year in March.

Someone experienced enough to know when to call and when not to.

For him to be calling this persistently?

Something must have happened.

“What is it?”

“S-sir… It’s about your daughter…”

“Ji-young? What about her?”

Han Yoo-rim’s face immediately softened.

He adored his daughter.

She had recently taken the college entrance exam and, against all odds, got accepted into Hanguk University’s medical school.

He had been so overjoyed that he even bought her a car as a gift.

He was that much of a doting father.

“S-she was in a car accident… They’re bringing her to the hospital now.”

“…What?”

“Her condition… looks serious. Sir, you need to contact Professor Baek immediately—”