Chapter 60

Though he spoke firmly, Captain Lee Kang-haeng’s voice trembled uncontrollably.

It was understandable.

When had he ever treated a critical patient without backup?

Kang-hyuk, finding the bloodstained military uniform oddly familiar, placed a hand on his shoulder.

Then gave him a couple of firm pats with his strong hand.

“Alright, let’s move quickly. Give me the briefing as we go. What’s your specialty?”

“Ah, I’m a surgical specialist. Please follow me.”

Captain Lee hurried forward.

Almost running.

Although everyone, including Kang-hyuk, was carrying quite a bit of heavy equipment, no one complained.

After a perilous hour-and-a-half flight, they were only now getting to see the critical patients.

“There are two patients in total. One of them was struck on the head by an oar another soldier was holding when the boat capsized.”

“Ah, the head… Is he conscious?”

“No. He sank immediately after the incident…”

“Wasn’t he wearing a life jacket?”

At Kang-hyuk’s question, Captain Lee shook his head.

“No, during Marine assault training, they perform combat swimming, so life jackets aren’t worn.”

“Ah, combat swimming…”

Most likely, the boat only went as far as the coastal waters.

From there, the rest had to swim to shore.

Pointless during the day, perhaps—but at night, it was a different story.

Even a small boat’s motor would produce noise.

But the sound of a well-trained Marine doing combat swimming was quieter than the waves.

“So the soldier was underwater for nearly ten minutes. He regained spontaneous breathing afterward, but… there’s still no sign of consciousness.”

“Pupil reflex?”

“Weak. And…”

“And?”

“He’s also bleeding from the nose.”

“[Epistaxis], huh…”
(T/N: It’s another term for nosebleed.)

Not a good sign.

It had already been more than an hour and a half since the incident, and the patient was still unconscious.

They might have to give up on one of them.

“What about the other patient?”

“Ah, Private First Class Kim got his K2 rifle strap caught in the propeller when the boat flipped…”

“Then what about his neck?”

If the strap or the propeller blade had struck his neck, it would’ve been over.

That area held major organs, blood vessels, and nerves.

A severe wound there almost always led to death.

Thankfully, Captain Lee shook his head.

“It looks like we managed to act quickly. The strap got caught on his left upper arm.”

“Upper arm… Hmm. Estimated blood loss?”

“Over 1 liter.”

The survivable blood loss limit for a healthy adult male was roughly 1 liter.

Any more, and Private Kim would be in serious danger.

‘Besides… I can’t fully trust his estimate.’

Even seasoned trauma surgeons had difficulty accurately gauging blood loss.

Kang-hyuk himself could only make rough estimates based on vital sign changes and various blood test results.

Expecting an exact figure from a young surgeon was unreasonable.

“What kind of treatment has been done?”

“Well… fluids are being administered, and we’re currently working on [hemostasis].”
(T/N: Is the process of stopping bleeding, usually by applying pressure or using tools to close blood vessels.)

“You’re working on it?”

“Yes. The wound is really complicated…”

To say they hadn’t even controlled the bleeding yet because of that…

It didn’t sit right with Kang-hyuk.

If he had been the one treating the patient, he’d not only have stopped the bleeding by now, but even started some reconstruction.

“Hmm. Who’s performing the treatment?”

“Captain Han Ji-hoon, an orthopedic military doctor.”

“You’ve got a decent team, huh? How many military doctors do you have?”

“Eleven in total.”

“Eleven? That’s not bad. Then I assume you’ve got some equipment too?”

Kang-hyuk looked up at the storm clouds stretching out even over the island now.

Pitter-patter.

Rain had started falling.

At this rate, even launching a boat would be lucky—let alone getting a helicopter back in the air.

‘If we travel by boat, just getting to Incheon Harbor will take over three hours… That won’t work.’

Expecting a patient to survive that long on a rocking boat was far too optimistic.

They had to complete at least the critical treatment here.

Whether he understood Kang-hyuk’s thoughts or not, Captain Lee kept talking, detailing the medical facilities at the base without pause.

“We have basic treatment rooms. We’ve got a [Bovie] and a [Bipolar] too. And thanks to ENT, we even have a microscope and endoscopy setup.”
(T/N: [Bovie] is an electrosurgical tool used to cut or coagulate tissue. [Bipolar] refers to a type of electrocautery used in surgery.)

“So it’s like a small secondary hospital.”

“Yes, well… there are a lot of tests we can’t perform, but to a certain extent…”

“That’s at least something.”

“We’re here. This way.”

Captain Lee entered a dull, red-brick building.

Above was a sign that read “Emergency Room.”

On the ground, streaks of red blood trailed from outside to inside.

That alone made it clear just how urgent the situation had been.

“Slave, let’s go. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Kang-hyuk pointed toward the strangely silent building—far too quiet for a place dealing with two critical patients—and quickened his pace.

Jaewon didn’t fully understand what he meant, but followed closely anyway.

Maybe because he kept being called “Slave,” he really had become a bit more slave-like than before.

“How’s it looking?”

As soon as Captain Lee entered, he asked another blood-covered officer.

From the bandaged left upper arm of the patient, it looked to be Captain Han Ji-hoon, the orthopedic doctor.

“I tried to clamp the bleeding point directly, but… it’s not working.”

“Yeah, I pulled on it too, but…”

The other captain sitting across from him shook his head.

His name tag read Lee Jong-ik, ENT.

It looked like every surgical military doctor on base was present.

“What about the other patient?”

Kang-hyuk asked as he took off his coat and pulled on gloves.

In response, Captain Lee Kang-haeng gestured to another bed behind a drawn curtain.

“Over here. We suspect signs of increased intracranial pressure…”

“They’re administering [mannitol] and [steroids], I see. That’s it for treatment so far?”
(T/N: [Mannitol] is an osmotic diuretic used to reduce intracranial pressure. [Steroids] are used to decrease inflammation.)

“Yes. An internal medicine doctor is monitoring him, but… it’s just…”

“Vital signs?”

At Kang-hyuk’s question, Captain Kim Dong-hyun from internal medicine answered promptly.

“Yes, blood pressure is 160 over 110, pulse is 52… and respiratory rate is slightly elevated at 18.”

“Hmm.”

Kang-hyuk tightened his gloves and hesitated for a moment.

If there had been only one patient, he would’ve jumped into treatment immediately without question.

But there were two.

And Kang-hyuk was just one person.

Sure, there were two trauma doctors on-site.

But Jaewon wasn’t even half a doctor yet.

So he had to choose.

‘From the outside, the arm injury looks more urgent.’

That one was spurting blood everywhere.

And even with fluids being administered, the patient’s blood pressure kept dropping.

But in Kang-hyuk’s eyes, the truly critical patient was the head injury.

‘Unnatural dark circles around the eyes. That’s the [Raccoon’s eye sign]—indicating a [basilar skull fracture]… and with blood pressure that high, it must mean…’
(T/N: [Raccoon’s eye sign] is bruising around the eyes that looks like dark circles, often a sign of a [basilar skull fracture], which is a break at the base of the skull.)

It wasn’t just a fracture. There was likely bleeding inside the skull, causing pressure on the brain.

It made sense.

Otherwise, the patient wouldn’t still be unconscious.

“Alright. Slave, go take the one with the arm injury.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jaewon immediately rushed to Private Kim.

Blood was still gushing steadily from his right upper arm.

It was clearly a torn artery or major vein.

Luckily, the orthopedic military doctor was applying anatomical pressure. Otherwise, the patient would’ve already died.

“They’re only running fluids right now, right? You can check the blood type from the dog tag. Put out an announcement across the base. Call in anyone with a matching type.”

“Yes, sir. Then should we start transfusion right away?”

“Of course not. You trust the dog tag blindly? Run [crossmatch tests] first.”
(T/N: [Crossmatch] is a compatibility test between donor and recipient blood.)

“Crossmatch…”

Despite being a licensed doctor for some time, the term was foreign to Jaewon.

After all, in university hospitals, transfusions happened automatically once prescribed—nurses handled everything.

He had never once been directly involved in the process.

But in trauma surgery, this was basic protocol.

Thankfully, he had at least skimmed through the monstrous paper Kang-hyuk had given him, and the memory came flooding back.

“Understood. I’ll do that.”

“Whew. You’re saved.”

“Sir?”

“I was going to kill you if you didn’t know that.”

“Ah…”

Naturally, the surrounding military doctors and EMTs looked utterly stunned.

It didn’t sound like something you’d hear between teacher and student.

But Jaewon ignored their reactions and let out a breath of relief.

He figured Kang-hyuk might not actually kill him—but he would make his life hell.

“Start the transfusion. Once the blood pressure begins to rise, slowly attempt hemostasis.”

“Yes, Professor. But then, what about you…?”

“I’ll handle this patient. He’s way more critical.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

From the outside, Private Kim seemed far worse off.

But Jaewon knew better.

If Kang-hyuk said so, then that was the case.

Especially when it came to medical judgment—there was no room for doubt.

So he began following the orders he’d just received.

After confirming Jaewon was carrying out his instructions without delay, Kang-hyuk turned back to Captain Lee Kang-haeng.

“You said earlier there was ENT equipment too?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Bring me the [endoscope].”

“The endoscope… sir?”

“Yeah. Can’t you tell by looking at this patient? He’s got a [basilar skull fracture], and his blood pressure is spiking. There’s pressure building inside his skull.”

“And you’re… going to resolve that here?”

“Where else would I?”

Kang-hyuk pointed outside where thunder and lightning now raged.

No transport could move in this weather.

Captain Lee gritted his teeth, then nodded.

‘Yeah… we’ve already passed the point of no return. Just follow orders. The responsibility won’t fall on us… Besides, this guy is the head of trauma at Hanguk University Hospital. He must be different from the rest.’

He did seem a little unhinged—but still.

He’d fought through this hellish weather just to get here.

So Captain Lee rushed inside the facility.

Meanwhile, Kang-hyuk quietly stared down at the patient’s face.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but the [raccoon’s eye sign] looked even worse than before.

RUMBLE.

Just then, a group of soldiers burst into the emergency room.

All military personnel inside immediately turned to them and saluted.

“Pilseung!”

At the center of the group, a middle-aged man waved them off with irritation and shouted,

“Why aren’t you transporting the patient?!”

(T/N: Wow, this is an entirely different scene than the drama. Instead of civilians, the patients now are from the military.)