Chapter 115: The Return Press Conference (1)

In the past, overseas training often felt like going on vacation. In fact, many professors viewed it as a reward, and hospitals tacitly acknowledged this sentiment.

‘Hmm.’

[Would you like to surprise them?]

‘Why always trying to surprise me?’

[Based on my analysis, no outstanding resident has ever presented anything during these return presentations.]

‘That… That’s true.’

Even with year-long fellowships, this was the reality. How much more so for short-term one-month programs?

Moreover, these were not opportunities reserved for professors but rather for residents - individuals who were at their busiest stage of life yet granted a sweet month off. Suhyuk briefly recalled the PowerPoint presentations from his seniors’ return conferences when he last checked them out.

The PowerPoint presentations mainly focused on where to find good restaurants and what items were sold at various locations. Rather than feeling like academic presentations, they resembled travel reviews.

“W-well then, let’s welcome Dr. Lee Suhyuk, who has returned as this year’s outstanding resident after completing his one-month training program at Iowa State University Hospital.”

As I was chuckling inwardly, Manager Shin Hyun-tae gestured for me to come forward. Despite being just a small departmental event, the auditorium was nearly packed.

‘I briefly glanced through the PowerPoint presentation, and it seems quite comprehensive, almost like a case report. Anyone not interested in attending such a session probably doesn’t deserve to be an Internal Medicine doctor.’

Lee Hyunjong’s relentless promotion of Lee Suhyuk, despite his lackluster performance, contributed to the high attendance. However, aside from his flamboyant personality, Lee Hyunjong had built an unparalleled reputation as a renowned physician. Consequently, not only internal medicine specialists but also colleagues from various other departments filled the auditorium.

“Hello everyone, I am Dr. Lee Suhyuk, a second-year resident at Taehwa Medical Center, as you were just introduced.”

Suhyuk greeted the audience with even more formality than usual. Having presented multiple times at academic conferences before, he showed no signs of nervousness. Instead, he appeared remarkably composed and confident.

“He is truly one-of-a-kind.”

Apparently pleased by Suhyuk’s demeanor, Lee Hahyun, the esteemed leader in medical imaging, smiled and stroked his chin.

Kim Jinsil, his disciple and one of the rising stars, nodded as well.

“The ongoing research is progressing well.”

“Ah, that project? How’s it going?”

“As expected by Professor Lee, there is some risk of transfer observed… However, it can be controlled depending on the operator’s ability.”

“Does the probability increase with depth?”

“Yes, it appears to have a correlation.”

“Great. Let’s…create ten more cases. We should be able to achieve quite high results.” Professor Lee Hahyun mentally outlined the structure of their research paper before falling silent.

Suhyuk had started his presentation earnestly.

Lee Hahyun was almost of the same age as Lee Hyunjong and held a similar position within the academic community. However, his manners were incomparably better.

“Good job, Lee Suhyuk.”

Suhyuk could recognize this voice even with his eyes closed, but he tried to ignore it while pointing at the screen.

“This is the accommodation where I stayed. Many professors or fellows present here might have also stayed there. Although old, it wasn’t difficult to spend a month if properly cleaned.”

In truth, considering Suhyuk’s humble background, he would’ve been content living there for life. However, being a good presenter meant knowing when to withhold personal details.

A skilled lecturer understands how much of themselves to reveal.

Now, Suhyuk had surpassed that level.

“The best thing was its proximity to the hospital. It was just across the street from the hospital. Thanks to this, I wasn’t bound by commuting hours and could go to the hospital or research institute whenever needed.”

His presentation started similarly to other residents’ presentations but gradually took a different direction. At least, none of the previous residents mentioned it being good to have easy access to the hospital or research institute at any time.

[Bardu clearly remembers Suhyuk complaining about wanting accommodation closer to a grocery store rather than the hospital when asked why he chose lodging near the hospital.]

Bardu continued his admonishment, recalling how Suhyuk had grumbled about preferring a location near a grocery store instead of the hospital when questioned about his choice.

However, Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae were too deeply entrenched to care, smiling contentedly instead.

“Then I will present various cases experienced during my training.”

Surprisingly, Suhyuk had prepared several case reports. While it was rare for someone not to play around during their training, it was even rarer for those who worked diligently to compile enough data to present such reports.

[This is truly all thanks to me, right?]

Even Suhyuk owed this feat to Baruda. Without Baru’s ability to process and store information through Suhyuk’s perspective, presenting these cases would have been impossible.

‘Yes, I acknowledge that.’

[Then tonight, let’s have sweet and sour pork with noodles and Jjamppong broth. My taste buds are craving after being in the United States.]

‘Why do you need to crave… Even as a native Korean, I can handle American food.’

[I am also made in Korea.]

‘Yes, yes. I understand.’

After calming Baruda, who seemed increasingly dissatisfied, Suhyuk continued his presentation. It included the patient’s age, gender, occupation as well as detailed blood test results.

At this point, even Lee Hyunjong raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Did they provide all of this information? How strange? Those Yankees… They usually never share personal patient data?”

“Do you think he memorized it?”

“Is that possible? Hey, there are several examination items listed here.”

“Suhyuk is a genius.”

“Hyun-tae. You have too high expectations for geniuses because you aren’t one yourself… Uh. Why did you hit me? I’m your hyung… No, I mean the director.”

“In any case, let’s stop here or my hair might be ripped out next.”

“Huh.” Lee Hyunjong sighed deeply while clutching his thinning hair.

Meanwhile, Suhyuk finished presenting about cotton dust disease caused by demon weed and moved on to the next topic. Already three cases had been presented, each one being exceptional. Naturally, everyone gathered at the conference started murmuring amongst themselves.

“He diagnosed all those cases?”

“Is he exaggerating…?”

“But it’s Lee Suhyuk. Don’t you know? He is a monster.”

“And even in the United States…it worked?”

“Why wouldn’t it work? Are we inferior to the Americans?”

“No, why are you getting angry?”

Some of the upperclassmen tried hard to maintain indifference, but most showed immense interest.

This was especially true for his two ardent fans.

“Amazing! He even tore apart America…”

“That’s right. Ahh…I want to join Internal Medicine quickly and work with him!”

“Yes, hurry up. There is so much we can learn just by following him.”

“I’m envious…”

It was An Dae-hoon and Woo Hayoon.

‘Little bastards.’

Lee Suhyuk smiled as he spotted them from the podium. Even if he tried not to look at them, An Dae-hoon stood out too much.

[Your hairline seems wider than before you went to the United States.]

‘So… Can’t you make some kind of anti-baldness medicine?’

[Even if all the world’s medical experts worked together, it would be beyond their capabilities.]

‘Really… In this world where cancer treatments exist, they still can’t create a hair growth solution.’

[The human body remains mysterious.]

Of course, cancer continued to be a challenge for modern medicine.

The Times officially declared that humanity lost the battle against cancer in the 20th century. However, there were gradual improvements over time. For some types of cancers, drugs with cure rates exceeding 90 percent had been developed.

In contrast, there was no progress regarding hair loss treatments.

“The next case is not from the hospital but involves Henry, the director of Pfizer’s Chicago Research Institute whom I met during my visit to their facility. By chance, I encountered Ronnie, the head of external research, at a party, and thanks to him, I got introduced to Henry.”

Although An Dae-hoon’s balding was truly unfortunate, Suhyuk couldn’t halt his presentation due to it. Therefore, he continued speaking.

“Henry has suffered from unknown tinnitus for 25 years and had to take antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications due to this issue. He also needed sleeping pills as it disrupted his sleep.”

The auditorium, which was briefly quiet, started buzzing again with excitement.

Suddenly, there was talk about the director of Pfizer Research Institute?

Even Lee Hyunjong couldn’t remain silent.

“Ronnie? By any chance…is it the same Ronnie we met at the conference?”

“The head of external research… Wait a moment.” Shin Hyun-tae hastily searched through his phone and eventually found Ronnie’s business card that he had taken earlier.

“Isn’t this correct?”

“No… How could you just meet someone like him by chance at a party?”

“You didn’t tell us what type of party it was initially.”

“Ah, that’s true. Who is this guy? He really is something.”

“As I said…”

Suhyuk laughed at their expected reaction.

Indeed, Pfizer has such influence…

[It is one of the best pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Receiving funding from them is like reaching for the stars… However, if you can secure their support, you’ll undoubtedly see results.]

The mere fact that Suhyuk connected with them during a one-month training session was astonishing. But his presentation went beyond just meeting them; they had even provided him treatment.

“This email arrived after I stopped taking aspirin. The date is… Ah, there’s another one from yesterday. If you look at the content, there’s an attached invitation.”

Moreover, Henry was someone who valued loyalty or rather knew how to keep his promises. Thus, he had already sent Suhyuk an invitation for next year’s conference in advance.

“It is an event held by branches worldwide… This time, it will be in Hong Kong. He invited me and one professor of my choice. If you permit me, I would like to attend and learn as much as possible.”

Even if this were an ordinary conference, it would still have been astonishing news. No organization paid for a resident’s airfare to invite them to a conference. Even most professors received only a standard honorarium for their lectures. The treatment afforded to Suhyuk now could be considered VIP level.

“Are they crazy?”

“You’re openly bragging now.”

“And why not? It’s worth boasting about.”

“Why do you keep picking on me?”

“Because your jealousy is showing.”

This time, Dr. Hwang Sunwoo and some of Suhyuk’s supporters grumbled, but they couldn’t change the overall mood.

“Hey, me! You should go with me!” Lee Hyunjong, the oldest among them, started to agitate loudly.

“Oh, come on, hyung? Haven’t you attended numerous international conferences already?”

“You don’t know about Jang Yuyou?”

“Hmm… Two esteemed professors here. Isn’t chemotherapy primarily about anticancer drugs? Suhyuk, let’s go together.”

With Shin Hyun-tae and Taejin Jo joining the fray, it turned into quite a chaotic scene. One might think this would be embarrassing in front of residents from other departments, but surprisingly, it wasn’t seen as such.

“What are our residents doing…?”

“Hey, I’ll see you guys at the hospital later.”

There were no professors who would pass on attending free overseas conferences. Moreover, although Pfizer sponsored events as ‘conferences,’ they could be considered networking events. In fact, many researchers received funding for their studies during these gatherings.