Chapter 148: Wait First, II

Suhyuk met Shin Hyun-tae and Lee Hyunjong as per his agreement with Ha-yoon yesterday. Both of them were incredibly busy, so they could only meet at around 8 pm when most of their work was completed. In fact, both Suhyuk, Hyun-tae, and Hyunjong still had remaining tasks, but they postponed these for this meeting. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that hospital work never ends; it just gets pushed back.

“What is going on? You called us here…”

Lee Hyunjong looked at Suhyuk from where he sat on the sofa in the director’s office. He held an ancient teacup brought over from China.

I had heard about it during one of our drinking sessions not long after diplomatic relations were established with China. At that time, the Chinese government didn’t care about cultural heritage leakage, so Ming and Qing dynasty artifacts could be purchased cheaply. There was even talk of artifacts from the Sui, Tang, and Han dynasties being available on the market.

“Isn’t that Song Dynasty porcelain?”

‘I don’t remember well but I think you’re right.’

Nowadays, it couldn’t be drunk openly as it would expose a crime. However, when only close acquaintances were present, he boasted about it daily.

“Hyung, isn’t this expensive? What will happen if it breaks while drinking tea there?” Of course, Shin Hyun-tae understood this based on common sense.

Especially after searching for similar tea cups on Sotheby’s website following Lee Hyunjong’s recent acquisition, Shin Hyun-tae couldn’t help but feel more uneasy. How could they casually use such expensive items?

“Is it wrong to drink tea from this cup?” Lee Hyunjong responded with an obvious logic.

Since he had a point, Shin Hyun-tae could only nod reluctantly. However, the tea cup wasn’t the most important issue right now. What mattered was Suhyuk summoning them both. This was unprecedented since his residency began, causing some unease within them.

‘Why…this is happening just after returning from the United States.’

While Lee Hyunjong appeared relatively calm, Shin Hyun-tae felt particularly anxious.

‘Does he want to do his residency in the United States?’

Based on what Suhyuk had shared, it seemed like he excelled during his time there. Additionally, language didn’t seem to be a barrier for him at all. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were trying to recruit him back.

“Oh, yes, Manager Shin. That…”

Suhyuk appeared hesitant, as if struggling to articulate something difficult.

‘What should I do?’

[What else can you do? You can’t handle this alone. You have no choice but to tell them.]

While internally conversing with Baruda, Shin Hyun-tae’s unease intensified. Surprisingly, it was Lee Hyunjong who spoke first instead of Shin Hyun-tae.

“Suhyuk…you aren’t leaving, right?”

Looking closely, Lee Hyunjong’s hands were trembling while holding his expensive teacup. Despite being Lee Hyunjong, he seemed uneasy when dealing with Suhyuk. After all, Suhyuk was destined to be the genius successor of internal medicine. While Shin Hyun-tae felt slightly guilty for this thought, the other residents had their own shortcomings.

‘Not him. He is different. Completely different.’

Suhyuk would become an even better doctor than himself. Hyun-tae was 100% certain about this. At Suhyuk’s age, Hyun-tae himself hadn’t demonstrated such exceptional skills.

“Huh?” Naturally, Suhyuk looked somewhat bewildered by the question.

However, it wouldn’t be easy to leave. He had already completed half of his three-year residency. Wasting one and a half years like blood would be sheer madness.

“Uh, no?”

“Nope. Then tell me anything.”

In any case, their expressions relaxed slightly after Suhyuk’s reassurance. As long as he wasn’t leaving for another hospital, they were open to hearing him out.

“It’s because of Professor Seo Hyoseok.”

“Oh.”

Yet, mentioning Seo Hyoseok’s name stirred unease once again. They realized that Suhyuk was currently dealing with ‘that’ troublesome resident. They couldn’t help but wonder if he had done something to upset Soohyuk.

‘I hope he doesn’t ask us to fire Hyoseok just because of drinking incidents.’

‘We’d love to get rid of him too, Suhyuk.’

Both shared similar thoughts.

Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae were considered some of the cleanest doctors in this field. Their skills were unquestionable as well. They had contemplated firing Seo Hyoseok countless times for being an embarrassment to their profession. However, it was incredibly difficult to dismiss a professor from a university hospital.

Unless there is a medical incident…

He wouldn’t cause any incidents if he actually saw patients, that bastard.

Surprisingly, since he didn’t do much work, he also made no significant mistakes. Although his performance record was abysmal, dismissing him solely based on poor results would not look good, especially considering Taehwa Group built this hospital as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.

What should we do…? How can we appease Soohyuk?

We need to let him vent properly. Well…

Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae communicated with their eyes without Suhyuk noticing. Although it might seem like telepathy, this kind of communication was possible between close friends. They understood each other’s intentions roughly.

“First, please listen to this.”

“Yes, Soohyuk. That bastard is infuriating. Annoying… Huh? What should I listen to?”

“Just wait hyung-nim. It’s an audio file.”

“Yes. Listen to this recording.”

Suhyuk pushed his phone towards the flustered pair. At that time, Seo Hyoseok was completely drunk, and his speech was slurred. Therefore, Suhyuk had edited the recording slightly for clarity.

“[I told you 500 isn’t enough? When I tried to use it as leverage, things started going wrong].”

Naturally, it included Seo Hyoseok’s plan to deceive Shin Hyun-tae and reduce his research budget.

[“He was tricked with 1 billion coins.”]

There were strange coins mentioned, which Lee Hyunjong had never heard of before, and apparently, they cost him one billion won.

[“Manipulate Shin Hyun-tae’s research funds so that only three hundred million is allocated.”]

Finally, there was discussion about reducing the research funds.

“This son of a bitch?” The hot-tempered Lee Hyunjong, who lacked patience, inadvertently stood up. He held the precious Song Dynasty tea cup tightly, and I could hear a slight crackling sound. Fortunately, he didn’t break it. Despite being financially insensitive, even Lee Hyunjong knew the value of this antique. Carefully placing down the cup, he rose again.

“This son of a bitch?”

As if it was his first time seeing such luxury, he exclaimed with genuine awe and surprise in his voice:

“This… Is this real?”

On the other hand, Shin Hyun-tae looked utterly incredulous. As someone with integrity, he couldn’t fathom how another human being could pull off something like this. How could one professor even think of embezzling research funds from a colleague, especially when that research could potentially save lives?

“Yes, it’s absolutely real.”

“When… When… When did you get this…?”

“We went out for drinks yesterday, Professor Seo and I.”

“Oh, a company dinner? Nothing unusual happened there, right?”

As the manager, Shin Hyun-tae was well aware of Seo Hyoseok’s character.

Lee Hyunjong knew that when stressed, this bastard shamelessly used residents and salespeople for his benefit. However, he never imagined Suhyuk would be one of them. He couldn’t believe the audacity to take out both the director’s son and Suhyuk, who was known as his favorite resident, for drinks.

“Oh yes, nothing happened.”

“You can’t hold your liquor well, right? That bastard…he is quite good at drinking.” Lee Hyunjong raised an eyebrow.

He had shared several drinks with Soohyuk before, leading him to conclude there wasn’t much point in drinking with him. Regardless of what alcohol they consumed, Soohyuk’s face quickly turned red, and he drank like it was work-related.

In stark contrast stood Seo Hyoseok:

Among doctors of his age, he’s probably number one.

Hyoseok could easily polish off three bottles of soju during a single sitting. Although not exactly appropriate behavior for a doctor, he took pride in it.

He could easily finish three bottles at one sitting. As a doctor, this was highly inappropriate, but he boasted about it.

“Ah, I just dumped them.”

“Dumped? Ah… Oh man! How could you do that? He brought those to share with us?”

“I had my ways.”

“As expected…you truly are amazing.”

Is it true that when one thing looks good, everything else does too?

Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae patted Suhyuk’s shoulder enthusiastically after hearing his confession of dumping the alcohol given by their professor.

“A genius, a true genius.” Lee Hyunjong even gave him a thumbs-up while repeating ‘genius’.

It wasn’t wrong to call Suhyuk a genius, as he indeed possessed exceptional talent. However, from Suhyuk’s perspective, these words were unbearably embarrassing.

“In any case, this is what Professor Seo Hyoseok said, right? He just threw away his son like this.”

While Lee Hyunjong was flustered about Suhyuk’s situation, Shin Hyun-tae also rose from his seat. Unlike Lee Hyunjong, who merely vented his anger, Shin Hyun-tae started moving towards the door, seemingly heading straight for Seo Hyoseok.

“Stop him, stop him. Anyway, he is naive too.”

‘Y-yes, I understand.’

If they proceeded as planned, it would end up being a disaster. A disciplinary committee might be convened, but Seo Hyoseok’s position as a professor at the university hospital couldn’t be terminated due to such matters. At most, his salary could be reduced temporarily, but that wouldn’t resolve anything.

“M-Manager.” Desperately, Suhyuk called out to Shin Hyun-tae.

Even if he had to rush to the restroom, Shin Hyun-tae always turned back when Suhyuk called him.

“What’s wrong?”

Naturally, Shin Hyun-tae swiftly turned around with eyes full of affection - indicating he was willing to listen to anything Suhyuk had to say.

“It’s about Professor Seo Hyoseok… Even if I tell on him…there won’t be any serious disciplinary action, right?”

“Huh? Well…”

Shin Hyun-tae recalled the atmosphere during the professor meetings. Unless there were clear grounds for legal action, it was rare for professors to lose their positions. A unanimous decision was required to dismiss someone, but no one would vote for dismissal since they could potentially face similar consequences themselves down the line. Moreover, despite being argumentative, Seo Hyoseok did have allies within the hospital due to shared interests.

“No, maybe just a pay cut?”

“Would that be enough?”

“Huh?” Shin Hyun-tae raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Suhyuk.

If they hadn’t known each other well, it might have been difficult for Shin Hyun-tae to discern Suhyuk’s true intentions.

However, Shin Hyun-tae had known Suhyuk for over a year now, and they shared a close relationship.

Ah, this guy… He wants to get rid of Seo Hyoseok.

Hyun-tae understood Suhyuk’s intentions immediately.

I want to get rid of him too, Suhyuk. Do you have any ideas?

Their eyes met, and Suhyuk nodded affirmatively.

“Please sit down first. I have a good plan.”

“Oh?”

Shin Hyun-tae’s eyes lit up with interest, but skepticism still lingered within him. Despite acknowledging Suhyuk’s brilliance, he wondered if politics was truly his forte.

At that moment, Suhyuk continued:

“Hayuni told me about it; she learned from Professor Woo Changyun.”

“Really? Then it must be reliable.”

Woo Changyun, indeed! There were whispers that even if he entered politics, he would undoubtedly secure a prominent position. Considering his reputation, it was worth listening to anything endorsed by such a figure.