Chapter 33: Here Too (2)

[“Are you crazy?”] Baruda, the ultimate AI continually learning and evolving through deep learning, thought Suhyuk must be insane. Otherwise, how could an inexperienced human like Suhyuk claim to know the answer before Baruda?

However, Suhyuk appeared more confident than ever.

“Hyung, please give him a sedative first.”

“Sedative? Even if I administer it…it will only have a temporary effect.”

“I think I know the cause. However, we can’t examine him while he’s acting out.”

“R-really?” Oh Jinsung immediately looked incredulous.

It was true that various rumors about Suhyuk were circulating recently. Most of them were absurd claims like him being the hidden child of Director Lee Hyunjong. However, there was also talk of him being the greatest genius since the founding of Taehwa Hospital. As someone who had known Suhyuk for quite some time, Jinseung found these rumors rather ridiculous.

‘His head got struck…and he became a genius?’

According to Professor Choi Nokphil, Head of Neurosurgery, this phenomenon occurred extremely rarely after sustaining brain injuries, leading to improved cognitive abilities. It seemed likely that this is what happened to Suhyuk as well.

‘Regardless…nothing will be resolved by keeping the patient here under these circumstances.’

Honestly, it was frightening. During the interview, there would be convulsions. After the convulsions, consciousness would be lost. Upon waking up, everything seemed fine. This strange cycle kept repeating itself. Oh Jinsung had no idea how to break this pattern, and he lacked confidence in finding a solution.

“I understand. I’ll administer it.” He decided to inject a sedative into the patient’s abdomen for now.

The injection took only a moment as the patient was lying on the floor convulsing. There was no need to restrain him further.

“Is his breathing okay?”

“What? Yes. It’s not that type of medication. However…it should be fine for about 20-30 minutes.”

“Okay. Let’s start with another CT scan.”

“A CT scan?” Doubt flickered across Oh Jinsung’s face once again.

The patient had already undergone this CT scan ten times before. Was it just a CT scan? The patient also had multiple brain MRIs previously. Yet, Suhyuk wanted to do another scan now? It didn’t seem like there was any clear reason for this.

“So…what exactly are you thinking? Suhyuk?”

Baruda’s reaction mirrored Oh Jinsung’s skepticism, indicating he might share similar doubts.

Despite their reactions, Suhyuk remained confident.

“It’s not about his head, hyung.”

“Huh? Not his head?”

With the patient convulsing, why wouldn’t they focus on the brain? Oh Jinsung’s distrust deepened even further on his face. Baruda showed a similar response.

“Have you lost your mind?”

Shut up, you fool. Just wait and see.

“I’ll indeed be watching. It’s not like I can stop you.”

On the other hand, Suhyuk welcomed Baruda’s criticism as he planned to repay him in kind. With a cunning smile on his face, he responded to Jinseung:

“Yes, hyung. I’m going to tap his stomach.”

“Stomach… You…”

Despite the convulsions, Suhyuk wanted to tap the patient’s stomach with that strange expression on his face?

Jinseung recalled another rumor about Suhyuk, primarily spread by Kim Jinyoung and Hwang Sunwoo.

I heard someone say he might be crazy…

According to them, Suhyuk’s remarkable diagnostic abilities were merely coincidences, and he was actually mentally unstable. Initially, this theory gained considerable traction.

Typically, when someone exceptionally talented emerged, especially if they came from humble beginnings, they often faced resentment and jealousy. However, as Suhyuk continued to achieve successful diagnoses and treatments, these rumors gradually diminished.

“In any case, I’ll prescribe some medication and take a photo. I don’t have much time.”

“Oh? Uh…yes. Intern…internie, come with me.”

“Yes, hyung.”

While Jinseung was deep in thought, Suhyuk pulled the patient’s bed out of the emergency room. All beds in the hospital, including those in the emergency room, were designed for easy transport, making it relatively simple to move them.

“D-Doctor, let me pull it for you.”

“Oh, thank you!”

Of course, given his injured leg, it wasn’t entirely effortless for Suhyuk.

Fortunately, it wasn’t an intern but someone with one year of experience, so I didn’t have to pull the bed all the way.

Tap.

Tap.

Baruda spoke as he followed Suhyuk, who was pushing the patient’s bed while holding his cane.

[Belly? Why are you taking a CT scan of the abdomen?]

‘Don’t you feel strange about what you said earlier?’

[Feel? Do you mean touch?]

‘No. Damn, that…um…yes, intuition. Don’t you have such a thing? Touch, I mean.’

It might sound a bit odd, but among doctors, “They have good intuition” was a tremendous compliment. It referred to individuals whose test scores were average but had exceptional diagnostic skills. Naturally, Baruda had no concept of this.

[Are you crazy? Have there been any successful cases of removing foreign substances from the brain? It seems like it will be a shipwreck.]

‘Don’t whine. Once I capture this footage, they’ll marvel at my greatness.’

[Please… Is there no skilled neurosurgeon available?]

‘Shut up.’

Suhyuk muttered and promptly entered the radiology room. Previously, he would have helped position the patient alongside the technician, but with his leg condition, it was pointless now. He considered himself lucky if he didn’t trip over.

Creak.

Soon, the technician returned after leaving the intern behind. The monitor displayed both the intern and the patient side by side.

“Abdominal area… We’re using contrast agents for imaging, correct?” The technician glanced briefly at the monitor before asking Suhyuk.

Gripping his cane firmly, Suhyuk nodded silently.

“Yes. Before and after.”

“Understood. I will start filming now.”

“Yes.”

The reporter grabbed his microphone, asked the intern to hold onto the patient firmly, and pressed the record button.

Weeeeng.

The CT machine warmed up quickly and started running. Compared to MRI machines, it operated at an incredible speed. Each captured image was sequentially transmitted to the reporter’s computer. However, since Jo Youngje had not yet entered, the available information was extremely limited.

Despite this, Suhyuk intensely scrutinized the screen.

“Will staring make something appear out of nothing?” Baruda sounded unenthusiastic, convinced that the abdominal CT would yield no significant findings.

“Huh?”

‘Did you see that?’

However, as more images were transmitted, Baruda’s reaction gradually changed.

[This… What is this?]

There was something round visible within the abdominal organs, specifically near the pancreas.

[Cancer? Did they know about this when taking these scans?]

‘Cancer? Are you talking nonsense? Have you ever seen cancer looking so round and pretty? It doesn’t appear to be metastatic either.’

[Indeed… The data suggests it’s unlikely to be cancer. Then… what is this?]

‘Let’s discuss after seeing Jo Youngje’s dye injection.’

[Huh…] Baruda sounded disappointed.

Meanwhile, Suhyuk continued staring intently at the screen. A smile blossomed on his face, which was quite natural given the situation.

It was due to confirming the anticipated condition through the CT scan.

‘Indeed, hypoglycemia… This is the key.’

[Not seizures?]

‘Right. Ah, now the contrast agent is being injected.’

Suhyuk turned his attention towards the contrast agent entering the patient’s blood vessels. The adverse effects of the contrast agent occurred extremely rarely, affecting approximately 0.3 people per 100,000. However, even with such low odds, deaths from these agents were not uncommon in university hospitals. This could be attributed to the generally poorer health conditions of patients undergoing CT scans at university hospitals compared to the general population.

In this particular case, although the patient was relatively young, it still warranted caution.

Swoosh.

Fortunately, there were no side effects, and the scan continued. Then images with white-dyed blood vessels started to be transmitted. This meant that the contrast enhancement was working properly.

[It is incredibly bright, isn’t it?]

As Baruda mentioned, the small mass discovered at the head of the pancreas appeared exceptionally bright on the scans. This indicated a tumor receiving abundant blood supply, suggesting high energy consumption in that area.

‘Yes, what type of tumor primarily occurs in the head of the pancreas and appears like this on a CT scan?’

[Please wait… I need to analyze it.]

‘Tap tap.’

[I won’t do that again. Apologies.]

‘Tap tap.’

Suhyuk nodded with great satisfaction and left the room as the filming had concluded.

“Good work, intern.”

He patted Noh Young-tae’s shoulder after he removed his lab coat, then returned to the treatment room with the patient.

Jinseung, who had been anxiously waiting for Suhyuk, rushed towards him.

“S…so what happened?”

“Yes, it worked.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, hyung. I’ll give you some feedback.”

“Oh…right. You mean about Kim Jinyoung? Brace yourself.”

Kim Jinyoung’s notorious reputation extended beyond Internal Medicine. In fact, doctors from other departments disliked him even more due to his tendency to vent anger whenever they requested consultations, regardless of their validity. Consequently, Jinseung shook his head, seemingly unable to tolerate hearing Jinyoung’s voice, and quickly exited the treatment room.

Meanwhile, Suhyuk took a deep breath and picked up his phone.

“Sigh.”

He then called Kim Jinyoung. As someone on-call off-site, it would be normal for him to answer promptly, but true to rumors about him, he didn’t follow protocol. It took three attempts before Jinyoung finally answered, sounding quite annoyed.

“What…do you want?”

It was only because it was Suhyuk that Jinyoung bothered with pleasantries; otherwise, he would have immediately berated another first-year intern for calling during the weekend without proper reason.

“Yes, Dr. Kim, this is Lee Suhyuk. I’m calling regarding a patient requiring notification.”

“An endocrine patient? We rarely admit such cases to our emergency room?”

Jinyoung’s statement held truth, but exceptions did occur at Taehwa Medical Center.

“Yes, it’s an endocrinology patient.”

“Haaah… go ahead.”

“The patient is a 35-year-old male with continuous seizures and convulsions for several months…”

“Hey, isn’t he from Endocrinology?”

“Yes.”

“But what seizures and convulsions? Either you or…he dies?” Unlike other residents, Kim Jinyoung didn’t hesitate to use the word ‘die’. Through his information gathering, he had learned well that Lee Suhyuk wasn’t part of any Royalty group. He was merely intelligent but nothing special. Jinyoung believed such people didn’t deserve kindness unless they stepped out of line.

“Continue… No, wait. First, tell me the diagnosis. What is it? Why is he referred to Internal Medicine?”

“Yes. The patient’s diagnosis is…”

“[Insulinoma! Insulinoma! If hypoglycemia persists! Other symptoms disappear! Only neurological symptoms remain!]