Chapter 30: Another Place, II

[Beeeep, beeeep, beeeep, beep.]

‘Damn it.’

During his first weekend working at Internal Medicine, Suhyuk leaped out of bed early Saturday morning. It wasn’t because he had slept too well and felt full of energy; rather, it was due to the incessant alarm ringing in his head.

[Good morning, Suhyuk. Have a nice day.]

‘Are you crazy?! You woke me up, and now “good morning”? What kind of nonsense is that?’]

[Is there any correlation between waking you up and wishing you a good morning?]

‘What? Of course… Uh… Hmm…’

Suhyuk initially tried to argue vehemently but found himself at a loss for words. Upon reflection, regardless of who woke him, the morning remained unchanged.

[Since you’re already awake, please review the materials from yesterday where you left off. Curiosity killed the cat, remember?]

‘Am I going to get scolded for being sleepy?’

[Sleepy? Suhyuk, it’s already 6 AM.]

‘I went to bed at 2 AM yesterday!’

Suhyuk grumbled internally while staring towards the door of the on-call room. He couldn’t see the culprit who had disrupted his sleep, but he could recall what happened yesterday.

“Come on, drink up. It’s not like you’re on call tonight. Do you want to die? Let me show you hell this month.”

“Yeah, when else can we enjoy some drinks? Isn’t it rude not to toast with Chief Suh?”

The ones urging him and passing beers were Kim Jinyoung, a third-year resident, and Hwang Sunwoo, a second-year resident, both currently under Professor Suh Hyo-shik from Internal Medicine.

‘Drinking alcohol in a hospital…?’

“It’s not illegal since we’re not on call.”

‘Still, does it make sense? If you want to drink that badly, go outside.’

“I agree with your opinion.”

The on-call room was not visible to patients, but…

In any case, wandering around in surgical scrubs while intoxicated was not advisable. Not long ago, there had been an incident involving a resident doctor from another hospital who performed procedures under the influence. What if patients misunderstood?

‘And if they must drink…why involve a first-year resident…? I’m already on call tonight.’

[“Stop whining. Didn’t I tell you ten times to firmly decline? You keep giving in, Suhyuk.”]

‘This bastard… I’ve told you repeatedly that I am just a first-year resident? The bottom of Internal Medicine!’

[To speak with such pride about it raises some doubts about your mental state.]

‘It’s not like that!’]

From others’ perspective, Suhyuk appeared to be talking to himself and ranting wildly. Baruda continued addressing him as if nothing unusual was happening.

[Moreover, based on my analysis, the behavior of other residents towards Suhyuk is somewhat strange.]

‘I don’t have much trust in…your so-called “analysis”.’

Suhyuk recalled how his previous encounter with Hayoon had ended disastrously due to Baruda’s misleading information. It might forever remain a cringe-worthy memory, haunting his dreams even when he least expected it.

[Baruda is an AI that evolves through self-directed learning. I can confidently say my analysis capabilities have improved significantly compared to before.]

‘Well…fine, let’s hear it.’

Suhyuk was already wide awake as he slowly put on his Crooks and left the room. Since he woke up early, he decided to have a solid breakfast. In fact, Taehwa Medical Center served hotel-style breakfasts, making it the best meal of the day there.

[I’ve determined that residents perceive Suhyuk as their superior.]

‘Really? Despite him being a first-year resident?’

[It may seem unlikely, but based on my analysis, this conclusion holds.]

‘Then you must be wrong.’

[Is that how logic works?]

‘Indeed.’

[Hm.]

Baruda couldn’t find any objective evidence to support his claim that residents viewed Suhyuk as their superior. He began wondering if there was something wrong with his logical circuits.

As Baruda’s thoughts quieted down momentarily, Suhyuk looked at his phone.

Let’s meet next week at the same cafe!

To be more precise, he was reading a text message from Woo Hayoon. If it had been written on paper, the ink would have faded away by now due to frequent handling.

[G-Get a grip. Based on my analysis, Woo Hayoon has no feelings for Lee Suhyuk.]

‘Didn’t you tell me to hold her hand?’

[I acknowledge that mistake. It was clearly an error on my part. I apologize.]

‘This is the first time I feel so bad after accepting an apology…’

Suhyuk shook his head and accepted the egg from the cafeteria lady. It was one of the prides of Taehwa Medical Center, served as a fried egg rather than boiled.

‘If you sprinkle ketchup on it, it tastes even better.’

[I agree. This is the best hospital food.]

For once, Lee Suhyuk and Baruda shared the same opinion. They grabbed some side dishes and found seats at a corner table. Since it was early morning and also the weekend, there were very few people present.

“Oh, Suhyuk.”

However, someone recognized him.

“Wow, eating breakfast so early. Taking care of your body?”

Moreover, there were two of them.

“W-Dr. Lee. Manager Shin. How are you doing?” It was Director Lee Hyunjong and Manager Shin Hyun-tae.

As usual, they had completed their weekend rounds quickly and were heading to play golf. The breakfast at Taehwa Medical Center was quite good, so they decided to eat here before leaving. Seeing Suhyuk’s genuine happiness, they laughed heartily and naturally took seats next to him.

“On call?” Lee Hyunjong initiated the conversation first. Initially, he had avoided Suhyuk, calling him crazy or a troll, but now he showed nothing but warmth towards him.

“Yes, Dr. Lee, I am on call.”

“Which department?”

“I’m assigned as the primary physician for Professor Suh Hyo-shik in Endocrinology.”

“Oh, Suh Hyo-shik.” At the mention of Suh Hyo-shik, Lee Hyunjong’s face visibly soured. It wasn’t due to his medical skills; rather, it was because Hyo-shik had secured his position through nepotism.

Similarly, Manager Shin Hyun-tae’s expression also darkened significantly.

While he might have entered through nepotism, his subsequent actions were equally atrocious. Considering only Taejin Jo bothered to interact with Suh Hyo-shik, there was no need to recount each of his misdeeds.

“Suhyuk.”

“Yes?”

“Hang in there. Oh, who is the chief resident? Is he any good?”

“It’s Kim Jinyoung.”

“Oh…stay strong.” Lee Hyunjong patted Suhyuk on the back as he took a sip from his glass.

“If things get too tough, let me know. I’ll take care of it.” Shin Hyun-tae chuckled and pointed at himself with his thumb.

Lee Hyunjong also regained his smile and continued, “Yes, regardless of how great Suh Hyo-shik thinks he is, compared to Master Shin Hyun-tae, he’s just…”

“No, why do you keep saying that? I’m just a department head…”

“Being a department head matters too.”

“Huh?”

Director Lee Hyunjong’s eyes twinkled at Shin Hyun-tae’s reaction. He seemed so excited one might question if he was indeed over sixty years old.

“If not for your expertise, would they have appointed you as a department head?”

“Wow… Then what about you, sir? Wasn’t your father the founding dean of Taehwa Medical University?”

“I regularly publish papers in NEJM when bored. Our positions are different.”

“Oh, always with that NEJM, NEJM. Do you feel sorry for those who can’t get published there?”

“They should be ashamed. How could a professor from such a prestigious hospital fail to contribute?”

“Wow… I don’t play golf.” Department Head Shin appeared genuinely upset and put down his fork.

Finally, Director Lee Hyunjong conceded.

“Eh-hei. What do you mean not playing golf? You should play.”

“Nope, nope. Wow… It is really dirty.”

“Hey hey. Let’s play together. I was wrong. There is nothing to do at home. Because of that damn NEJM paper, I didn’t even get married…”

“Ah… So if I don’t write for NEJM, then I can marry and be welcomed back home?”

“Ahhh. Don’t talk like that. You… Yes, uh, ah. The Lancet! You published there.”

“You once said The Lancet was trash.”

“Oh… Is there any other good trash? I was joking.”

In this manner, Director Lee Hyunjong continued comforting him until he finally succeeded in persuading Shin Hyun-tae, albeit with quite a hefty price as compensation.

“Hey… Isn’t giving me five strokes too much, regardless?”

“Then go home.”

“Ah, really… Fine. Go ahead. Oh, Suhyuk. If it becomes too much for you, please talk to Department Head Shin. He is quite good at this compared to me.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you both, Dr. Choi and Manager An.”

The two left Suhyuk alone in the cafeteria, still chatting animatedly as they walked away. This scene stirred mixed emotions within Suhyuk.

Impressive.

[What do you mean by that?]

Can’t you sense their relaxed confidence, typical of successful people? I envy how they play golf every weekend.

[I find it strange that you’re envious about sports, Suhyuk.]

What’s your point?

[Even when you had plenty of time and were physically fit, you never really exercised, right?]

Oh.

Caught off guard by this sudden truth bomb, Suhyuk clutched his chest momentarily before reaching for his phone as it started ringing precisely at 7 o’clock.

3777 - it was undoubtedly the emergency room number.

‘These guys are truly like ghosts…’

Muttering to himself, Suhyuk answered the call. The cheerful voice of an intern started speaking immediately.

“Hello, this is Noh Young-tae, an intern from the emergency room. I’m calling regarding a patient who needs notification!”

“Yes, please continue.”

“A 35-year-old male, Yang Jae-won, admitted with seizures and convulsions that began two months ago.”

“Hmm?”

Seizures and convulsions. No matter how he considered it, these symptoms did not directly relate to endocrinology. Sensing Suhyuk’s confusion, Intern Noh Young-tae hastily continued, aware that impatient residents often cursed at this point.

“Oh, it’s primarily related to psychiatry, not endocrinology. We’re requesting your collaboration.”

“Ah… Is it not neurology but psychiatry?”

“He insists he needs divine intervention.”

“Aha.”

It seemed like it wasn’t entirely coincidental that this patient was seen by a psychiatrist. However, there was still one thing unexplained.

Why did they visit Endocrinology?

“The blood test shows hypoglycemia. It is currently at 66 mg/dL.”

“66? That’s quite low. Did you skip eating?”

“I believe not.”

“Are you being treated for anything such as diabetes?”

“According to the patient, there are no significant medical issues.”

“Hmm… Understood. I’ll be right down.”

As soon as Suhyuk hung up, he tidied his tray and headed towards the stairs.

‘Baruda, list all conditions that can cause hypoglycemia.’

“My data is limited due to lack of prior study, but…I will try my best.”

‘Don’t give me clues.’

“Yes, yes. In return, chicken for lunch.”

‘Deal…’

[Deal.]