Chapter 111: Something is Really Strange (2)

“Huh?”

Professor Eps had already reached his own conclusion and looked at Suhyuk. Steve did likewise. Even the patient sitting in the wheelchair was observing him.

Suhyuk glanced around at them all before speaking again.

“May I examine this patient once more?”

He didn’t regret bringing up the topic as there was no tremble in his voice. Instead, he sounded utterly confident.

“There seems to be something else.”

‘I think so too.’

This conviction fueled his actions.

“You want to examine the patient again?” Professor Eps could detect the same confidence on Suhyuk’s face.

If Eps hadn’t witnessed Suhyuk’s remarkable diagnostic abilities earlier, he might have dismissed this request with scorn.

However, Eps had witnessed Suhyuk’s seemingly miraculous diagnostic abilities multiple times before. The only drawback was that he sometimes confused basic diseases with conditions more commonly found in the United States. Yet, after visiting the research institute at Iowa State University, Suhyuk overcame this issue as well. Consequently, Eps now trusted Suhyuk even more than Steve.

“Yes, Professor. I would like to examine her again. There is something…strange about her.”

It was unusual for a resident to contradict a professor. Despite America being known for its freedom, there were still certain boundaries one should not cross.

But his claim of strangeness piques my interest.

Eps found it fascinating that he wasn’t particularly upset by Suhyuk’s challenge. Instead, curiosity took precedence over anger.

Instead of being angry, he was curious. What made this resident think something was strange? Had Shin missed anything?

“Well, um… We have time anyway. It’s fine. Let’s take another look.”

“Oh… Yes, Professor.”

The doctor waved his hand, and the prison guard turned the wheelchair around again.

As expected, the patient looked menacing once more when they faced him again.

Despite appearing frail, I find it terrifying.

It was truly ironic. The patient embodied how someone with such a gaunt face could indeed be frightening. Moreover, his expression soured at the thought of losing any chance for a CT scan due to the small Asian doctor standing before him.

“What should I do? I need to get closer for the examination.”

Can you please remove these handcuffs?

“Not only can’t they be unlocked… It seems like they cannot even move?”

I guess… You’ll stop them if anything happens.

Suhyuk glanced at the prison guard. The guard was so massive that he could easily overpower this prisoner with one arm.

Thus, Suhyuk approached the patient again.

“Patient, would you open your mouth?”

“Mouth?”

“Yes, please open it once.”

“Hmm.”

Instead of following Suhyuk’s instructions, the patient looked towards Professor Eps. His expression seemed to ask why he had to listen to some kid.

“Open your mouth.”

“Yes, open your mouth.”

“Mouth?”

“Please do as he says. Dr. Ri is an excellent doctor. Even I learn from him sometimes.”

“Oh.”

The patient’s face showed disbelief, but regardless, they opened their mouth following Suhyuk’s instruction. It revealed poorly maintained teeth.

‘Shouldn’t we have gone to a dentist instead of Internal Medicine?’

“Do you brush your teeth regularly?”

‘In other words…’

The sight was horrifying, making it difficult for Suhyuk to bear witness. Without realizing, he gently pulled back the patient’s lips with his gloved hands and shone a light inside. The patient appeared quite uncomfortable but couldn’t move due to handcuffs secured around their neck, preventing any resistance.

“Hmm.”

Suhyuk looked at the gums instead of the messy teeth. This was because there was a characteristic finding associated with heavy metal poisoning.

[There is Burton’s Line.]

‘True. It…is mainly observed in lead poisoning.’

It was an abnormal discoloration appearing as dark blue lines on the gums. As Suhyuk mentioned, it was one of the primary indicators of lead poisoning.

‘Now that I think about it…’

[Mizuo lines and arsenical keratosis can also be seen in lead poisoning.]

‘Yes, lead poisoning seems much more plausible than arsenic.’

[But where could they be exposed to lead?]

‘First, I should tell them this fact. If I don’t mention it, they might immediately take me away.’

Suhyuk observed Eps, Steve and the prison guard who hadn’t taken their eyes off him since he stepped forward. Among them, Eps and Steve didn’t show much surprise as Suhyuk had seen similar expressions from them before. However, the prison guard’s expression was visibly discontented, almost serving as a textbook example of dissatisfaction. After all, treating criminals wasn’t exactly his preferred duty. In his view, those truly needing medical care were the people struggling to survive in slums without resorting to crime.

“Professor.”

Despite his displeasure, the prison guard patiently waited for Suhyuk to finish.

Thanks to this, Suhyuk was able to inform Professor Eps about what he had observed. Naturally, Professor Eps looked extremely surprised.

“Lead poisoning…?”

Honestly, he had never heard of ‘lines’ or ‘keratosis’ mentioned by Suhyuk before. However, he remembered hearing about it during his student days. He just didn’t know they appeared like this.

“Yes. It is lead poisoning. Among them, the Mizu lines on the fingernails indicate that it is currently progressing.”

“Hmm… That’s strange? Are there any facilities within the prison causing this?”

Regardless of how things turned out, prisons were government facilities in the United States. This meant they were constructed and operated according to the strictest standards.

The danger of American prisons came from the inmates, not the facilities.

“Nope. There is no place where lead is handled here. We don’t do any soldering due to safety concerns.” The prison guard accompanying them also shook his head vigorously.

In lower-grade prisons, various things were done as part of vocational rehabilitation training. However, in this high-security facility, giving anything to these prisoners would result in it being used as a weapon. Even during his time working here, the prison guard learned that spoons could be turned into killing tools.

“Have you seen something similar?” Professor Eps showed the patient’s palm to the prison guard.

There was clear asbestosis keratosis, meaning small spots were embedded one by one. It was a feature that anyone could immediately notice. If someone else had similar hands, they would be able to identify them right away. The prison guard knew this because he was aware of the cunning Pete’s real name, which was actually the soft-sounding Jean Paul.

“No, I haven’t seen anything like it.” This indicated his keen interest in prisoners, but he swore under heaven that he hadn’t encountered such palms before.

Eps’ face became even more serious. “Then it means only this patient is exposed to lead…”

“No, we can’t be certain about that. These spots require prolonged exposure. Oh, Officer, do you happen to know how long this person has been incarcerated?”

The prison guard rubbed his chin at Suhyuk’s words. Until now, he had not viewed Suhyuk favorably. However, it was difficult to ignore his question now. After searching his memory diligently, he promptly responded:

“It has been eight years this year.”

“Is that considered long?”

“No, it is average for our facility.”

“Hmm.”

This meant, as per Eps’ explanation, symptoms should have appeared in other inmates as well.

“Perhaps lead contamination occurs only within this jail cell.”

“Oh, that could be possible.”

“W-wait a moment.” As Suhyuk and Eps continued their discussion, prisoner Jean Paul, who had remained silent until now, opened his mouth. Ideally, he wanted to raise his hand, but it was impossible due to the handcuffs around his neck.

The handcuffs were around his neck. Although he spoke, no one paid attention to Jean Paul’s voice amidst their discussion.

“By any chance, is it possible to investigate the feng shui of my jail cell?”

“Uh… You need permission for that.”

“No, I mean, am I sharing the room with someone else?”

“Nope. It’s a double occupancy cell.”

“Is the other person there now?”

“No. That friend is…a model prisoner.”

These words implied that Jean Paul was not a model prisoner, and they irritated him further.

“Hey, listen to me!” He yelled loudly.

Naturally, everyone turned towards Jean Paul. Among them, the prison guard’s gaze was particularly fierce.

“Are you crazy? Didn’t you forget the rule to only speak when prompted by the doctor?”

The prison guard’s imposing physique and fierce demeanor struck fear into everyone present, not just those directly involved. Facing such a figure, Jang Pol must have been terrified out of his wits, but surprisingly, he remained composed.

“I’m trying to tell you something important!”

Firstly, physical punishment without cause was prohibited for guards. Secondly, Jang Pol had a pre-existing leg injury, which often led others to be at fault. Moreover, this time, there was indeed a legitimate reason for his outburst.

“What do you want to say?”

“My symptoms!”

“Oh.”

The prison guard was quite reasonable.

Upon hearing ‘symptoms’, they immediately withdrew their threatening attitude and stepped aside. Finally, Suhyuk and Eps could face Jean Paul directly again.

Jean Paul appeared serious, but his inherent cheerfulness couldn’t be suppressed.

“Doctor Yang… No. Um. Doctor.”

“Yes, please speak. I’m listening.”

“You haven’t listened to anything yet…”

“I am listening now.”

Eps, who was usually friendly towards patients, sounded quite curt. Although he didn’t know the specific crime committed by this prisoner, he understood well enough the nature of criminals sent here.

In any case, Eps acted this way because he knew how vile the prisoners entering this prison were. Despite taking the Hippocratic Oath, it was inevitable for his heart to be biased.

“Hmph.” Jean-Paul didn’t seem bothered by Eps’ attitude, as if he was accustomed to it. Instead, with great difficulty, he raised both hands towards Eps.

“Well, I don’t know what my nails or mouth look like, but these… These have always been like this.”

“Always like this? Since birth?”

“No… That’s not true. But they’ve been like this for quite some time. At least over ten years now.”

“Ten years? So then…”

This meant at least before being incarcerated in this prison.

That would imply that the cause of lead poisoning was not within the prison.

“What?”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

How could his lead poisoning continue even after entering the prison? Even if he possessed something causing it, it should have been confiscated upon arrival. As Eps muttered earlier, this situation seemed implausible.

‘Is it not lead poisoning?’

“No, I still need to run tests, but based on these distinct symptoms… It’s definitely lead poisoning.”

‘This doesn’t add up.’

“Something… must have been overlooked. We need to find it.”