Chapter 73

Clatter.

As soon as the ambulance arrived at the emergency room entrance, Kang-hyuk immediately moved the stretcher inside.

Captain Lee Kang-haeng and two other nurse officers helped Kang-hyuk push the stretcher.

“Professor! What on earth happened?”

Just like with Jaewon earlier, Jang-mi, who had been contacted ahead of time, rushed over and asked.

At her words, Kang-hyuk opened his mouth as if to speak but then simply shook his head.

“Later. First, do you see this patient’s arm?”

He showed her Private Kim’s arm, which was in a horrific state.

The flesh was torn in multiple places, and the fractured [humerus] (T/N: The upper arm bone) was exposed underneath.

Anyone could tell at a glance it was a critical situation.

“Ah… Then first…”

“Prep an OR.”

“Shouldn’t we call orthopedics?”

Even as she asked, Jang-mi found it awkward.

Setting up an OR for a patient with a broken arm without even calling orthopedics?

Normally, you would call them first before even arranging surgery.

“No, don’t call them. I’ve already done some surgery inside. If someone else touches it, the connection might snap.”

But Kang-hyuk was someone who overturned normal conventions.

This time was no different, and Jang-mi didn’t argue.

“Yes, Professor. I’ll prep the OR right away.”

“Good.”

“Ah, but anesthesia… What should we do?”

“Anesthesia, hmm.”

Kang-hyuk paused to think.

General anesthesia would require waiting for the anesthesiology department.

It would be easier to wait a little and operate under general anesthesia.

But Kang-hyuk couldn’t afford that.

‘I already missed two 119 calls while coming here.’

Without a surgeon at the hospital, how could they accept incoming emergency patients?

It was an irresponsible thing to do — to the patient and to the paramedics who struggled to get them there.

Who knew what hospital that next patient would end up at, or what treatment they would receive?

The thought made Kang-hyuk anxious.

At least for now, this was the only place in all of South Korea’s barren trauma surgery field that could provide proper care.

“We’ll go with local anesthesia. I’ll do it myself. Private Kim, right? You can endure it, right?”

“Ah…”

“It won’t hurt much. I’ll still numb the area.”

“Un-Understood.”

For Private Kim, there wasn’t much choice.

Whatever the case, after Kang-hyuk laid his hands on him, he genuinely felt like he had a shot at surviving.

“Good. As soon as the OR’s ready, we’ll head in.”

“Yes.”

While Kang-hyuk and Jang-mi busily arranged the OR and finalized the plan, the others who had been following them finally burst into the emergency room.

First were Lieutenant Colonel Kim Nak-chul and Captain Kim Young-jae.

Technically, Captain Kim didn’t need to come this far.

But he had wanted to see how the patient he helped evacuate would be treated, so he came all the way.

“Has the OR been secured?”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim, who had once been a resident at Hanguk University Hospital, knew well how university hospitals operated.

He knew exactly how emergency surgeries, especially those unplanned and non-life-threatening, were often pushed to the back of the queue.

Hospitals rarely prioritized such cases.

“We’ll be doing it over there. We actually have an emergency OR equipped.”

Kang-hyuk didn’t bother mentioning that it used to be a regular OR.

Thanks to that, Lieutenant Colonel Kim looked genuinely touched.

“Wow… After all those beatings during the National Assembly inspections, our ERs have really improved.”

“Well… let’s say that’s true.”

Kang-hyuk gave a bitter smile and nodded.

His face clearly showed displeasure, but Lieutenant Colonel Kim didn’t mind.

Kang-hyuk had been like this from the beginning.

“Then are we going in now?”

“As soon as the instruments and staff are ready in the OR.”

“That’s good. Whew… I should contact the guardian again.”

Lieutenant Colonel Kim finally looked relieved.

Even though it wasn’t his official patient, a medic naturally felt a sense of responsibility toward anyone who had once passed through their care.

It seemed Lieutenant Colonel Kim was no exception.

As he hurriedly pulled out his phone to call the guardian, the ER doors swung open again.

Thud thud thud.

This time, it was Reporter Park Sang-eun and a cameraman.

It was obvious they were from a broadcasting station, carrying a large microphone and a camera with the ‘TV Goryeo’ logo.

Had Kang-hyuk been an ordinary man, he might have gone to ask what was going on.

But unfortunately for Reporter Park, Kang-hyuk was anything but ordinary.

“Alright, Gangster, get moving. Go get ready.”

He was so indifferent he casually called a nurse “Gangster” even in front of the media.

Jang-mi was momentarily speechless with disbelief, but she had no intention of correcting him.

‘Right. That’s just who he is.’

With that thought, she sprinted toward the OR.

Crude and infuriating as he often was, the fact remained: with him around, the Severe Trauma Center could finally function as a real center.

It had been over a year since the trauma center was established, but the number of patients saved after Kang-hyuk’s arrival far surpassed the number before him.

It would have been stranger if a team member felt no motivation working alongside him.

Thud thud thud.

So Jang-mi ran with all her might.

Reporter Park Sang-eun watched the so-called “Gangster” disappearing into the distance, then turned his attention to Kang-hyuk.

“Hello, Professor Baek. I’m Reporter Park Sang-eun from TV Goryeo.”

He approached with subtle hope.

Usually, doctors — or anyone, really — got nervous when a reporter introduced themselves while shoving a camera in their face.

Normally, people would at least show some embarrassment.

“Are you here because you’re sick? Registration’s over there. I don’t treat patients who walk in on their own two feet.”

But Kang-hyuk’s answer was completely unexpected.

It was Reporter Park Sang-eun who ended up flustered instead.

Her barely concealed expression change set off a frenzy in the livestream chat.

<Look at that swagger.>
<She lost, totally lost.>

However, Park Sang-eun was no ordinary reporter.

If she were, she wouldn’t have spent all day chasing helicopters and ships.

Not that Kang-hyuk had even noticed — and even if he had, he wouldn’t have cared.

“N-No, I’m not here because I’m sick!”

“Then you really have no business with me. You’re in the way, so move.”

Kang-hyuk shoved her aside and headed toward the OR.

His gown, clothes, and body were in shambles from running around all day.

It would be better for the patient’s prognosis if he at least washed up and changed into clean scrubs.

“Uh, uh…”

Reporter Park pointed at Kang-hyuk’s retreating figure, stunned.

Had no one else appeared, it would have been a pitiful sight — she looked like the saddest person in the world.

Fortunately for her, two senior professors arrived, panting heavily.

“Wh-Where did he go?”

“I don’t know. I think he went… to the OR.”

“Wait, who’s that?”

“I dunno. Some reporter?”

“A reporter? TV Goryeo… Ah, damn it.”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“That’s the reporter who’s been poking around Baek Kang-hyuk all day! We need to get out of here!”

Director Hong Jae-hoon urgently tried to drag Han Yoo-rim away.

But Reporter Park and her cameraman were a bit quicker.

They had plenty of eyes helping them.

<There! There! The professors are running!>
<They said something about Baek Kang-hyuk!>

The chat flooded with tips.

Thanks to that, Reporter Park easily blocked their path.

“Hello. Professor Hong… Jae-hoon, right? I’m Reporter Park Sang-eun from TV Goryeo.”

“Uh… I don’t really… have much to say.”

Shrunken shoulders.

Timid voice.

Now this was the scene Park Sang-eun was used to.

Secretly rejoicing, she quickly asked the question she had prepared.

“You’re the Chief Director, right? Then you must know almost everything happening at this hospital?”

“Well, not… everything…”

“Today, Professor Baek Kang-hyuk, head of the Trauma Surgery Department, deployed to Baengnyeong Island for a Marine injury case. You know that, correct?”

Normally, when a trauma center dispatched personnel instead of receiving patients, they had to report it to upper management.

A proper center was expected to operate even without trauma surgeons, pulling staff from other departments as needed.

Of course, under the current administration, no one cared about the trauma center.

“Uh… roughly.”

“Roughly? This is a live broadcast. Please answer properly.”

“Good grief. What exactly are you planning to broadcast anyway…”

“Anyway, after deploying to Baengnyeong Island, Professor Baek did not return by helicopter. Instead, he transported a patient by ship. You’re aware of that too, right?”

Hong Jae-hoon made an extremely awkward expression.

He knew, but admitting it felt dangerous.

Yet denying it was tricky too.

That was the nature of the law.

“I… I know.”

“And you also know he performed surgery on the ship?”

“That…”

Hong frantically tried to calculate whether admitting it would help or hurt him.

“I didn’t know about that.”

“I see. So you’re saying Professor Baek made that decision independently?”

“Something like that.”

“That’s very serious. According to experts I’ve consulted, operating on a ship is extremely unsafe for the patient.”

“It probably is.”

“I think I should hear directly from Professor Baek. Is that possible?”

At that, Professor Hong Jae-hoon silently looked at Professor Han Yoo-rim.

The look said: You’re the Surgery Department Head. You deal with it.

Han Yoo-rim gave a look of pure injustice, but the microphone was already in front of him.

“So you’re the Surgery Department Head. What do you think about Professor Baek’s actions?”

Like Hong earlier, Han Yoo-rim’s mind raced furiously.

‘Operating on a ship is insane… but that guy… he’s the real deal.’

He still couldn’t forget it.

The memory of Baek Kang-hyuk fixing his daughter’s torn heart like a miracle.

Would someone like that make mistakes even operating on a ship?

Hard to imagine.

Thus, Han Yoo-rim betrayed Professor Hong Jae-hoon’s expectations and answered.

“I believe… he had a good reason. I trust he acted in the patient’s best interest.”

“This lunatic!”