Chapter 113: Miracle (1)

Professor Epps had similar thoughts as Suhyuk after reviewing the MRI. The bullet fragment was lodged in a dangerous location, but it had narrowly missed damaging any nerves. It simply remained near the nerve, continuously emitting heavy metals like lead.

“Steve, go call neurosurgery.”

“Um… Yes, sir.”

Unlike Suhyuk and Professor Epps, Steve wasn’t entirely convinced of their assessment. This uncertainty stemmed from his specialization in Internal Medicine; he had only studied basic anatomy during medical school, with minimal focus on the spine area. In fact, interpreting spinal MRIs was not part of his training. Had he become a professor like Epps, where exposure to various cases through consultations and collaborative efforts is common, his perspective might have been different.

Since I don’t know what’s going on, it’s best to just follow instructions…

Thus, Steve rushed out as instructed by Epps and called the neurosurgery department. To be more precise, he contacted the professor of neurosurgery who had scheduled research time today.

In a South Korean university hospital, this situation would have been unthinkable. Firstly, finding a surgical professor with free time was highly unlikely, and secondly, it was unheard of for a mere resident to directly call a professor from another department.

However, in the United States, the concept of interdepartmental cooperation differed significantly from Korea. As a result, Steve didn’t seem overly distressed, although Suhyuk and Epps remained unaware of his expression outside the room.

“Doctor Hwang.”

Epps, still gazing at the door through which Steve had exited, eventually turned towards Suhyuk, his face filled with even greater admiration than usual.

Epps had been consistently amazed recently, but now his admiration was even greater.

“Yes, Professor Epps.”

“How…how did he get here from there?” Epps pointed towards the patient still lying inside the MRI room.

The examination wasn’t completely finished, so Paul should have remained in the MRI machine for some time. The expression on Epps’ face as he gazed at Paul was incredibly complex, and understandably so.

He diagnosed paralysis in a patient admitted for a fake illness…?

From a commonsense perspective, it seemed utterly unbelievable. It was mind-boggling to the point where, if not witnessed with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.

In fact, when he texted this news to his close friend Hank, the response was:

-Get out of here. Are you making a movie?

Even Hank, who had witnessed Suhyuk’s skills numerous times, found this situation absurd.

‘Really… it is quite excessive.’

Epps shook his head momentarily before turning back to Suhyuk.

Suhyuk patiently waited and then spoke up.

“When performing a physical examination…I was taught that I should examine the entire body.”

“Indeed. Well done. That makes sense.”

It was a convincing response to Epps’ seemingly genuine question. If someone less skilled had given such an answer, Epps might have dismissed it as nonsense. However, he couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Yes…that’s right. Sticking to the basics.”

“Yes, sir. That’s how I was trained.” Suhyuk nodded along with Epps, feeling a slight twinge of guilt.

In truth, it was Baruda who discovered the unusual symptoms in Paul, not Suhyuk himself.

In reality, Suhyuk had focused on Paul’s cough like Epps did. However, his expression remained unchanged.

[Indeed…Suhyuk is an extraordinary actor.]

Baruda couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘What do you mean here? There’s no distinction between yours and mine.’

[Are you saying it’s not acting, but that’s how you truly feel?]

‘Aren’t those facts?’

[Hmm. Upon reflection, you’re correct. I am merely a tool for you.]

‘Why do you sound so sad about it?’

[No, I was created to be satisfied with this role. If Suhyuk becomes the best internal medicine doctor as my sole input-output channel, that would be enough for me.]

After listening to Baruda, Suhyuk confidently smiled at the mention of becoming the best internal medicine doctor.

In the past, it sounded absurd, but now it didn’t seem that way anymore. It appeared entirely possible. In fact, Suhyuk might become an unprecedented doctor.

‘Well… I’ll make sure to achieve this.’

[Excellent. First, please give Epps’s shoulder a tap. He looks like he has had some kind of epiphany.]

When Suhyuk finally looked at Professor Epps, his expression did resemble someone who had experienced enlightenment in a martial arts novel. If Epps were a martial arts master, this moment would have been significant for him. However, he was just a doctor, which meant this realization held no particular importance.

“Professor Epps, are you okay?”

Suhyuk decided to bring him back to reality, and Epps quickly snapped out of his trance.

“Eh, uh… No, what I meant earlier… is that you made me reflect.”

“I might have gone too far.”

“No, no. Absolutely not. You’re superior to any young doctor I’ve ever seen. In fact…” Epps considered removing ‘young’ from his statement but shook his head as it might be unfair to his mentors and colleagues.

Fortunately, just as things were becoming awkward, Steve returned, waving his phone.

“He’s been contacted. He says he’ll arrive shortly.”

“Really? Right now?”

“Yes. Today…he mentioned deciding on surgery due to some cancellations.”

“Aha. Oh, that’s good.”

The healthcare system here was more relaxed compared to South Korea. Compared to Taehwa Hospital, it felt like playing a healing game. At Taehwa, over a hundred operating rooms were constantly running every day.

A surgery cancellation? It didn’t matter because there were hundreds of patients waiting, with many requiring immediate attention. With just a few phone calls, someone would invariably agree to fill the slot.

However, things were different here. Even the neurosurgery professor entering now seemed somewhat at ease.

‘I never thought I’d see a cheerful neurosurgeon.’

“That Choi Nokphil fellow seems quite bright?”

‘Let’s not talk about him… He isn’t such a great person.’

“Understood.”

Baruda also had negative feelings towards Choi Nokphil, the head of neurosurgery at Taehwa Medical Center. When Suhyuk collapsed due to his illness, Nokphil was more concerned about public perception than Suhyuk’s health. If Lee Hyunjong were still alive, Suhyuk’s life would have been significantly different now.

“This is the patient?”

In any case, Neurology Professor Michael entered the room with a cheerful smile and pointed towards the examination area. There didn’t seem to be any awkwardness between Epps and Michael, suggesting they might already know each other well. It was surprising to see such camaraderie between respiratory medicine and neurosurgery specialists.

While Suhyuk pondered how unexpected this connection seemed, Epps nodded affirmatively.

“Yes. His name is Paul Jones. You know him, right? He came from prison.”

“Oh… I wondered why there were two prison guards outside the examination room.”

“Anyway, this patient was shot about ten years ago. Since then, he has had severe limping problems. When I asked him, he mentioned it is worse now compared to immediately after being shot.”

“The symptoms have progressed. That’s somewhat interesting. Let me see… The images haven’t fully transferred yet?”

“T1 is available here.”

“Oh.” Following Epps’ words, Michael became engrossed in the image. As expected of a neurosurgery professor who constantly viewed spinal images, he quickly found the bullet fragment.

Scrolling up and down repeatedly, he observed:

“Hmm… This… It seems like this really caused it? If only there were enhancements… No, hmm. It is clear, very clear.”

He then stroked his impressive beard - perhaps a bit too much. Epps tapped Michael’s shoulder and pointed at Suhyuk.

“That friend diagnosed it.”

“Huh? Professor Epps, not you?”

“I’m a pulmonologist. He came in with coughing issues.”

“Ah… Indeed, paralysis of the lower body wouldn’t be treated by a pulmonologist.”

“So here’s what happened.” Epps briefly explained the entire situation.

Although he hadn’t initially suspected anything, Epps was not an incompetent doctor to miss Suhyuk’s insights completely. Therefore, his explanation was flawless.

“Wow.” Naturally, Michael looked quite astonished.

“And where…where did he come from?”

“South Korea, Taehwa Medical Center. He is in his second year of Internal Medicine.”

“Second year. A genius, I presume?”

“Yes, absolutely a genius.”

“Hmm…”

Michael blinked and then continued, “Your name is Suhyuk, right?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Well… If you don’t have any schedule conflicts, would you like to observe a surgery? The observation room happens to be empty.”

An observation room?

This was not available in South Korea.

“It won’t hurt to take a look. I doubt we’ll need your assistance during the procedure though.”

Baruda recalled Suhyuk’s problematic left leg. If it wasn’t for this issue, they wouldn’t have limited their focus solely to internal medicine. Suhyuk’s hands were quite skilled, and Baruda could also provide advice regarding alcoholism.

‘Well… having witnessed the ultimate treatment might change one’s diagnosis, wouldn’t it?’

However, Suhyuk had a severely impaired left leg, making it difficult for him to walk without a cane for extended periods.

In the operating room where he would need to stand for long periods, it would be unbearable. Thus, they focused solely on his growth as an internal medicine doctor. Eventually, they concluded that visiting the United States would be beneficial.

“I’m curious about the skills of American surgeons.”

‘Exactly.’

Of course, there was also a bit of self-interest involved.

“Ah… I am fine with it.”

“Great. Let’s proceed immediately. We don’t even need general anesthesia. Just a spinal block will suffice. Removing bullet fragments isn’t particularly challenging anyway.”

“Isn’t this typically done under general anesthesia? It involves a bullet wound, right?”

“Oh… In Korea, injuries from bullets are quite rare, aren’t they? Here, they’re more common. And I received my training in New York.”

“New York?”

Suhyuk tilted his head as he didn’t understand what Epps was saying. Seeing this, Epps chuckled and explained further.

“In New York, gun accidents occur frequently. Michael is an expert.”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, shall we go to the operating room together? You don’t know the way, right?”

“Yes. I’m not familiar with the route to the operating room.”

“I’ve finished my outpatient duties anyway, so let’s go together. We’ll see how it goes… Since it’s local anesthesia, we should be able to assess immediately.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Suhyuk left the room. By this time, Paul had also completed his tests and emerged from the examination area. He was still seated in a wheelchair, but his face showed excitement.

This was because Michael had informed him that after surgery and rehabilitation, he would be able to walk again.

“T-There!” Paul cried out desperately as soon as he spotted Suhyuk.

Michael not only discussed the surgery but also mentioned how it was possible thanks to Suhyuk’s efforts.

The prison guard attempted to remind Paul about maintaining silence outside of medical consultations, but Suhyuk responded quicker.

“Yes, patient?”

“Uh…” Despite summoning Suhyuk, Paul found it difficult to speak and merely scratched his thin cheek.

However, his hesitation didn’t last forever.

“T-Thank you.”