Chapter 45

Cardiac rupture.

Just hearing the term alone was enough to understand the severity of the condition.

No, even calling it “severe” felt inadequate.

A heart weakened by [myocardial infarction] could rupture, but when a perfectly healthy heart was torn apart due to trauma, survival rates were beyond meaningless.
(T/N: Myocardial infarction heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked, causing heart muscle damage or death.)

The literature recorded it as 100% fatal.

That was what Kang Hyuk had learned as well.

‘But as long as the patient is in my hands, I’ll fight to the end…’

With that thought, Kang Hyuk glanced at Ji-young’s face.

She looked far too young to die.

“What are you all standing around for?! Move her to the OR now! Call anesthesiology!”

“R-right! Understood!”

Jaewon and Jang-mi nodded without hesitation.

As they wheeled the patient out of the treatment room, they started making calls.

The OR staff would have already started preparing after hearing a trauma case was incoming.

But they wouldn’t have anticipated such an urgent, life-threatening case.

They needed to ensure that the right equipment and tools were ready in advance.

Rattle.

Other residents and nurses joined in to help transport the patient, making the gurney race toward the operating room at an incredible speed.

Professor Han Yoo-rim, upon seeing this, stumbled as he hurriedly followed.

His legs were weak, and he nearly collapsed several times.

But he was desperate.

“Pro-Professor Baek!”

Naturally, he clung to Kang Hyuk.

After all, Kang Hyuk was the team leader—the most skilled trauma specialist Han Yoo-rim knew.

“What is it?”

Kang Hyuk turned to face him.

Unlike when he looked at patients, his face now showed little emotion.

“My daughter… What’s going to happen to my daughter? Tell me!”

“Hm.”

Kang Hyuk could feel his irritation rising.

Yet, for once, he didn’t snap.

No matter what their history was, the man standing before him wasn’t just Han Yoo-rim, the surgical department chair who constantly picked fights with him.

Right now, he was just a father desperate to save his child.

“Professor, we need to go now.”

Jaewon urged Kang Hyuk.

But Kang Hyuk shook his head.

As a guardian, Han Yoo-rim had the right to know what surgery his daughter was about to undergo.

That was the bare minimum of decency.

“Go ahead first. I’ll catch up.”

“A-alright, understood.”

Jaewon left Kang Hyuk behind and rushed the gurney into the OR.

Clatter.

They were moving so fast that the sound of the wheels faded quickly.

Kang Hyuk listened to the receding footsteps before turning back to Han Yoo-rim.

“Professor Han.”

“Y-yeah, Professor Baek?”

“Your daughter most likely suffered severe blunt trauma to the chest from the steering wheel. The airbag didn’t deploy.”

Of course, Kang Hyuk hadn’t seen the accident site or any dashcam footage.

But for a trauma surgeon of his caliber, understanding injury mechanisms didn’t require firsthand observation.

“I-I see…”

Han Yoo-rim was furious that the expensive foreign car he had bought for his daughter had failed to deploy its airbag.

But he didn’t waste time dwelling on it.

His daughter’s condition was too dire for that.

“Because of that, her heart was damaged.”

“Her… heart…”

“We were lucky to stabilize her from V-fib the first time.”

For once, Kang Hyuk used an uncharacteristic phrase.

‘Lucky.’

Normally, he never used words like that.

But this time, he had no better way to describe it.

Because he had seen the ruptured heart with his own eyes on the ultrasound.

“If you stabilized her… Then she’s fine now, right?”

Unlike Kang Hyuk, Han Yoo-rim was only seeing the hopeful side of the situation.

Unfortunately, Kang Hyuk had to shatter that hope.

He needed Han Yoo-rim’s consent for emergency surgery.

“No. Post-traumatic V-fib doesn’t happen without a cause.”

“W-what’s the cause?”

“Cardiac rupture. More specifically, the lateral wall of the left ventricle is torn. It hasn’t completely burst yet, but over 90% of the wall is shredded. If left alone, it will fully rupture within 5 to 10 minutes.”

“Cardiac… rupture…”

Han Yoo-rim repeated the words blankly, as if they were someone else’s problem.

Bzzz.

His strange daze was interrupted by the sudden vibration of his phone.

The moment he saw the caller ID, his eyes snapped back to reality, and he frantically grabbed his phone.

It was the cardiology professor he had been desperately trying to reach.

“H-hello! Why weren’t you answering?!”

His voice was filled with the desperation of a drowning man clinging to a lifeline.

He was certain that the cardiologist would give a different answer than Kang Hyuk.

It was a typical reaction to devastating news—seeking a second opinion in hopes of hearing something better.

So Kang Hyuk simply watched without any reaction, quietly keeping track of the time.

“I was in the middle of a procedure. Just finished now.”

Unlike the frantic Han Yoo-rim, the cardiology professor was unbothered.

He had been performing a [coronary angiography], which was why he had missed earlier calls.
(T/N: Coronary angiography is a procedure that uses contrast dye and X-rays to check for blockages in the heart’s arteries.)

He hadn’t even heard about Han Yoo-rim’s daughter’s accident yet.

Moreover, the two were college classmates from Hanguk University, and they were quite close.

At this point, he thought this was just a casual call from an old friend.

“My daughter’s in the ER!”

“What? Say that again.”

Only now did the cardiologist’s tone turn serious.

If a friend called him from the hospital, heart problems were likely involved.

“Baek said it’s cardiac rupture, so he took her to the OR… But can you check her first? Cardiology is better at reading ultrasounds than trauma surgery…”

“Baek? You mean that trauma surgeon you always complain about?”

“Yeah, yeah, that guy! So hurry up and check for yourself. I can’t trust him!”

Just moments ago, Han Yoo-rim had been pleading with Kang Hyuk.

Now, he had completely changed his tone.

Kang Hyuk found it absurd.

But he wasn’t particularly angry.

‘Well, I can’t say I don’t understand.’

Any parent would do anything to keep their child alive.

Even if, in reality, this kind of behavior was only decreasing the already slim chance of survival.

‘If I keep entertaining this, we’ll lose precious time.’

Kang Hyuk glanced toward the operating room.

It had already been two minutes since the OR lights turned on.

Since Ji-young had already been intubated before arriving, that was more than enough time for anesthesia induction.

Of course, there was always a lingering question—did they use the right drugs for induction?

But Jaewon had probably handled it.

His skills had improved a lot recently.

“Alright. Time’s up.”

Deciding he could wait no longer, Kang Hyuk tapped his phone screen twice before sprinting toward the OR.

Right then, Han Yoo-rim, still on the phone with the cardiologist, frantically called after him.

“W-wait! Where are you going?!”

“To operate. Haven’t you been listening? The heart’s about to rupture!”

“But you’re not even sure! What if you open her up and it turns out to be nothing?! Will you take responsibility for that?!”

Han Yoo-rim had just said the one thing every surgeon despised the most.

That ‘what if’ question.

What if you’re wrong? What if you take responsibility?

No human being could be 100% certain in their judgment.

Any normal person would hesitate, even if just for a moment.

“Yes, I will.”

But Kang Hyuk wasn’t normal.

Without a second of doubt, he nodded and continued running.

Han Yoo-rim, his face twisted in disbelief, shouted after him.

“Hey! HEY! What if you’re wrong?!”

“I’m not. It’s going to rupture. 100%.”

“You—you can’t operate without my consent! You know that, right?!”

“Tsk.”

Just as he was about to step into the OR, Kang Hyuk stopped and turned around.

Han Yoo-rim stood there, looking triumphant, as if he had checkmated him.

It was absurd.

A father was wasting time arguing while his daughter was dying.

‘There’s a limit to how stupid you can be.’

Through the small OR window, Kang Hyuk looked at Ji-young.

The anesthetic gas was flowing through the tube in her mouth.

Just as he expected, she was already under.

And, fortunately, Jaewon had already prepared for a thoracotomy, even though Kang Hyuk hadn’t ordered it yet.

All that was left was to cut.

Growing impatient, Kang Hyuk turned back to Han Yoo-rim.

“Listen, you’re misunderstanding something. We already did the ultrasound. The heart is seconds away from rupturing. We need to operate.”

“Just wait a little! I’m not saying don’t do the surgery! Just confirm it with another ultrasound first!”

“You think I’m wrong?”

“Just get another opinion before cutting her open!”

“You think I haven’t already done that?”

“You need my consent!”

“Not for an emergency operation like this.”

“If the guardian is present, it’s different!”

Decades as a university professor weren’t for nothing.

Han Yoo-rim knew hospital regulations and medical law like the back of his hand.

But he had overlooked one critical factor—

Kang Hyuk didn’t play by the rules.

Clack.

Without hesitation, Kang Hyuk kicked open the OR door and yelled,

“Hey, Anus! Step out for a second.”

“Huh? Step out?”

“Yeah. Just stand here, in the doorway.”

“Uh… O-okay.”

Unlike regular automatic doors, OR doors wouldn’t close if something was blocking them.

Because some medical equipment was too large and heavy, the system ensured they had enough time to pass through.

So as long as Jaewon stood in the doorway, the doors wouldn’t close.

Once Jaewon was in position, Kang Hyuk pointed to Han Yoo-rim and asked,

“That guy. He’s Ji-young’s guardian, right?”

“Of course. That’s Professor Han Yoo-rim.”

Jaewon had worked under him as a resident for an entire year.

And yet, after transferring to trauma surgery, he had never once received a call from him.

It was an awkward moment.

“Ah… Dr. Yang. You haven’t started yet, right? Just hold on a bit longer.”

Instead of scolding him, Han Yoo-rim patted Jaewon’s shoulder.

Because right now, he needed something from him.

Kang Hyuk pointed at Han Yoo-rim again.

“He knows her heart is rupturing, but he wants us to wait. Does that sound sane to you?”

“Huh?”

“Hospital policy states that if a guardian is mentally incapacitated or otherwise unable to make a rational decision, two doctors can override their consent and approve emergency surgery. You know this, right?”

“Y-yeah… I do.”

“Han Yoo-rim is insane right now. A total lunatic. So, approve the surgery. I already did.”

“Uh…”

Jaewon blinked, unsure how to respond.

Han Yoo-rim, of course, exploded.

“What?! You crazy bastard!”

But Kang Hyuk stood his ground.

“Quick! The patient’s dying! We have five minutes to open the chest!”

“Agh…”

Despite his hesitation, Jaewon trusted Kang Hyuk completely—at least when it came to medical decisions.

“F-fast-track consent… I approve.”

“Good. Surgery is happening. Gangster! Make sure he doesn’t come in.”

(T/N: I think I prefer how they handled this scene from the drama. You can really tell how devastated Yoo-rim was. That actor was so good in portraying the love of a father for his daughter. He did the role justice. )