Chapter 143: Enough is Enough, I

“You…you promised?” The researcher—later revealed to be Kyung Soo-min—clung tightly onto Shin Hyun-tae’s arm. Despite his own irritable nature, Shin Hyun-tae understood her persistence; it was a matter of job security after all.

“Yes, I already told you! Nowadays, firing someone on a whim isn’t that easy anymore, as you well know. You can tell just by looking at this hospital, right?”

The power wielded by a department manager back in the day was unimaginable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their mere words could send shivers throughout the entire medical community. Not only could they terminate residents, but they also held sway over their future prospects.

However, such talk now would only lead to ridicule.

“With residents making a mess without doing any work… How can I fire a sincere employee?”

“B-But if we get on her bad side…”

“Don’t worry about that. There are many people who will hire you here. Didn’t Director Kim’s sister mention Suhyuk as her younger brother?”

In fact, they had never formally become siblings. However, when Executive Director Kim Da-hyun was discharged from the hospital, she wrote in a letter that she would help him like a caring older sister if he needed assistance. Although it was publicly known that Suhyuk was the son of Director Lee Hyunjong, his secretary discovered that he was actually an orphan.

Convinced by his own words, Shin Hyun-tae continued to assert, “Yes…that’s right.”

Researcher Gungsoo Koom never imagined that Dr. Shin, the head of Internal Medicine at Taehwa Hospital, would lie to him, so he was thrilled with this news. Just earlier today, when Professor Seo Hyoseok had called, Gungsoo felt incredibly troubled. He could not have predicted things would turn out like this. It truly felt like everything happens for a reason.

This time, it was Taejin Jo who patted Researcher Gungsoo Koom on the shoulder. The forceful pounding from hands as large as frying pans made Gungsoo’s heart race.

“Are we moving forward?”

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

“How will it proceed? Can you give me a general overview?”

Shin Hyun-tae had been at this hospital for quite some time and was involved from the early stages of Baruda’s development. However, Taejin Jo wasn’t in such a position. By the time he became a professor and regained enough stability to look beyond his immediate surroundings, Baruda had already exploded onto the scene.

“Ah… First, I’ll refine my findings based on this research presentation and submit them as a proposal to the director. The director is always frustrated about not having enough research assistance, so my proposals have never been rejected. Then it gets passed along to one of the affiliated research centers within our group, which would be Taehwa Electronics in this case.”

If it were related to new drug research, it would likely go to Taehwa Bio instead.

Unlike Taehwa Electronics, which suffered a significant setback with Baruda, Bio hadn’t experienced any major incidents and was rumored to be quite receptive to proposals. However, it was also known for allocating minimal funding, making it challenging to achieve meaningful results in the future.

“Electronics, huh? What happens if they don’t accept our proposal?”

“I doubt that will happen…”

Researcher Goo Sungmin’s expertise actually lay outside electronics. Strictly speaking, he specialized in research design and held a Ph.D. in this field. Since completing his doctoral studies, he had rarely participated directly in research projects. Nonetheless, even from his perspective, this plan seemed highly promising. It appeared as though all they needed was an electronic component to complete their flawless strategy.

“If I may… If I may ask…”

“Then we will search for companies to collaborate with our university’s Research and Development Center. Even if it fails during the electronic review stage… Many companies would be eager to pursue this project based on this proposal.”

“I see. That’s good news. We shouldn’t waste Suhyuk’s efforts, researcher Go.”

“Yes… indeed.” Researcher Go nodded, wondering what Suhyuk had done to receive such treatment. It seemed excessive just because he was the director’s son. From his experience, professors at university hospitals were typically very self-assured individuals. Unless Suhyuk was the chairman’s son, they wouldn’t praise him so highly without genuine merit.

‘He is quite smart though…’

From his presentation alone, it was clear how exceptional he was. Still, would all those professors go out of their way for him? It couldn’t have been achieved by Suhyuk alone.

While Shin Hyun-tae continued to ponder these thoughts, Suhyuk and Taejin Jo left the center with the rest of their group.

“By the way, Hyun-tae hyung.” When they were far enough from the center, Taejin Jo opened his mouth. Unlike usual, he had a serious expression on his face.

“What? And please call me Manager An.”

“We’re not at work now.”

“No… This is a hospital… There are people from the hospital nearby…” Shin Hyun-tae felt absurd as he spoke.

Taejin Jo was old enough to understand the difference between private and public settings, right?

However, Taejin Jo remained undeterred.

“Aren’t we all like family here? Except for Professor Hong Changgi. Hey, cover your ears.” He forcibly covered Hong Changgi’s ears while continuing his conversation. Naturally, his manner of address did not change. “Anyway, hyung.”

It seemed unlikely that anything would convince him otherwise, and Shin Hyun-tae found it too bothersome to argue further. So, he simply nodded in defeat.

“Fine… do as you please. What is it?”

“It’s about Seo Hyoseok, professor. Can we really let things continue like this?”

“Oh… that bastard. Ha… truly unbelievable, isn’t it?”

People often say that one bad apple spoils the whole barrel, and this was certainly true for the Internal Medicine department at Taehwa Hospital due to Seo Hyoseok’s antics. To top it off, he had the audacity to act entitled? It wasn’t as if he possessed any exceptional skills either.

“So, should we…investigate him further?”

“Investigate what?”

“If there’s anything we can use against him.”

“How do you plan on investigating? Got connections?”

“He doesn’t have any close friends here.”

“See?”

Had Shin Hyun-tae not considered this already? If possible, he would’ve fired Seo ten times over by now. However, he needed concrete evidence of misconduct. As mentioned earlier, even firing a resident required overwhelming justification these days.

And what about the professor?

“Just consider it a pile of crap. No harm done to Researcher Go…”

Shin Hyun-tae briefly glanced at the Convergence Medicine Center, wondering if Seo Hyoseok might dare touch it. Most sane people wouldn’t even contemplate such a move, considering this wasn’t his own company.

But that bastard…he just might do it.

However, when it came to Seo Hyoseok—or rather, anyone from his family—they were all quite peculiar.

“I’ll handle it swiftly. Haven’t had a drink with my father-in-law in a while.”

“Ah, yes… Understood.”

“Don’t do anything unnecessary. If rumors start circulating about digging too deep, that guy won’t let it slide.”

While it might not harm Shin Hyun-tae, it could significantly impact Taejin Jo since Taehwa Medical Center was a subsidiary of Taehwa Life Sciences.

“Also, let him go now. Professor Hong looks like he’s suffocating.”

“Oh… Yes.” Following Shin Hyun-tae’s words, Taejin Jo loosened his grip on Hong Changgi’s arm.

As soon as this happened, Professor Hong Changgi, who had been struggling with his ears covered, swayed unsteadily, resembling a willow tree bending in the wind. The intense pressure from having his ears tightly blocked altered his auditory perception.

“You…you brute! It hurts!”

“Does it hurt? I didn’t mean to cause pain; sorry about that.”

“T-this… This…”

“My apologies. Let me treat you to dinner later. And by the way, just look at these earrings - they’re clearly too big for your ears.”

“Uh…” Hong Changgi inadvertently glanced at Suhyuk.

How could Taejin Jo have pushed this through? It was clearly due to Suhyuk’s efforts.

[B-B-Now. Please deliver your prepared speech.]

Baruda opened his mouth as he watched Hong Changgi. This was for Suhyuk’s image within the hospital, and Suhyuk had agreed to it.

“Professor Hong. Professor Jo. If our research is approved, please help us obtain patient information. Thank you very much.”

[W-Wow, impressive! Can someone be so humble and compassionate?] Baruda shivered, struck by the exceptional politeness of Suhyuk’s request. It was no coincidence that both Taejin Jo and Hong Changgi were visibly moved; their reactions were genuine and not exaggerated.

“Ah… Yes. Then, I will sincerely help.”

“Of course. I will also assist. I’ll provide data from our respiratory intensive care unit. I will handle the consent forms myself.”

“N-No! I will take care of the consent forms. Absolutely, I won’t bother you, Suhyuk.”

“Me too. Uh… no, Lee Suhyuk won’t be bothered at all.” In his confusion, Hong Changgi almost echoed the strange nickname “our Suhyuk”.

Shin Hyun-tae observed them with a bitter smile, finding their behavior absurd, but fortunately, this awkward moment didn’t prolong indefinitely. Everyone was busy after all.

Beeeep, Beeeep.

After briefly stepping away, their phones started ringing incessantly from various locations.

Hong Changgi was the first to rush away.

“Damn it. It’s about the patient admitted yesterday. I’ll go check!”

It was ARDS - Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. If the patient had been treated initially at Taehwa Medical Center, things might have been different, but now it was too late.

“Oh, me too. Ah… This patient has arrived…” Taejin Jo followed next.

As someone primarily focused on blood cancers within the Hematology-Oncology Department, his patients often experienced sudden changes in their conditions.

The patient who arrived today had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), and they were well managed until now. However, it seemed to have relapsed as they showed signs of bleeding upon arrival. Since Taejin Jo had been attentive to this patient during their outpatient visits, his concerns about the previous patient faded away.

“Hmm. I also need to check on a sepsis patient that has been bothering me today. Suhyuk, you have afternoon rounds, right?”

“Ah, yes. Manager An. The afternoon rounds…”

Suhyuk trailed off.

Currently, Suhyuk was working under Professor Seo Hyoseok for Endocrinology. While Suhyuk’s patient management was impeccable, patients still expressed dissatisfaction. They often questioned where Seo Hyoseok, the doctor responsible for admitting them, had disappeared to.

“If he consistently ignored patients, they would have fired him.”

‘Indeed…’

This sly fellow was incredibly quick to catch on. Whenever there were VIP patients, he provided them with exceptional care. As a result, higher-ups dismissed any negative rumors about Seo Hyoseok as mere gossip.

“Ah, right. It’s Seo Hyoseok. Yes… hang in there.” Shin Hyun-tae patted Suhyuk’s shoulder before leaving.

Suhyuk then headed back to the endocrinology ward and prepared for rounds.

In reality, there were no professor rounds, so the rounds consisted of Suhyuk, An Dae-hoon and Woo Hayoon.

It was usually like this.

However, something strange happened.

“Uh…Suhyuk hyung.”

“What?”

“Isn’t Professor Seo here?”

“Huh?”

When I looked up, Seo Hyoseok was indeed present. Moreover, he had a frustrated expression on his face. He approached the station with heavy footsteps before opening his mouth,

“Hey, Lee Suhyuk. You guys haven’t done any team dinners while rotating through endocrinology yet, right?”

“Ah, yes. Professor.”

“Let’s do it today. Prepare within 30 minutes and meet me on the first floor. Today, we need to drink some alcohol.”