Chapter 38: This First Year Resident is Different (2)

“What do you mean he refused to be transferred?”

“Who was admitted over the weekend?” Seo Hyoseok, the endocrinologist, asked with sleep still evident on his face. It seemed like he had been drinking heavily again last night. As a professor at a university hospital, it wasn’t surprising that he spent Sunday nights intoxicated. No wonder there were rumors about him never being late for work.

“It’s Yang Jae-won; he was diagnosed with insulinoma and admitted,” Suhyuk directly informed Seo Hyoseok. Kim Jinyoung had been demoted from chief resident to primary physician, which led to this situation. Naturally, Seo Hyoseok, who had been partying all weekend, was unaware of what transpired. Despite receiving text messages from Manager Shin Hyun-tae himself, he remained oblivious.

“Why are you telling me this? Did you sell our chief?”

“Oh…” Suhyuk found it difficult to verbalize what had happened and glanced at Kim Jinyoung.

Kim Jinyoung was furious, but if he exploded now, there could be a disciplinary committee meeting.

First, the manager, then the director…

He might actually get expelled from the hospital, rendering all his previous training futile.

“I…over the weekend…made a mistake regarding this patient, so Manager Shin stripped me of my chief position…,” Suhyuk managed to say despite feeling embarrassed.

Naturally, Seo Hyoseok’s eyes widened significantly.

“The manager? The Chief of Endocrinology?”

“Yes.”

“But why did only the manager know about this issue?”

Naturally, it was because Seo Hyoseok did not answer his phone calls. Even when Manager An joined forces to call him, he still didn’t respond. As soon as Dr. Seo left the hospital, he turned off his phone with the number known by everyone at the hospital. Despite this, his reaction was shamelessly audacious. Even Kim Jinyoung, who shared similar characteristics, found himself flabbergasted.

“W-Well… It happened through Professor Kim Jinsil from Radiology.”

However, speaking out of turn in front of the manager wasn’t advisable. Moreover, despite causing such chaos, Seo Hyoseok held significant influence within the hospital, making him untouchable.

“Kim Jinsil? Who is that?”

“That…”

“No, never mind. I’ll ask the manager directly.”

As everyone knew, Seo Hyoseok was a renowned professor who had climbed to his position due to political connections rather than merit. Naturally, he harbored feelings of inferiority towards those who achieved success through their actual abilities. Such individuals often couldn’t let things go easily and tended to twist facts to suit their own narrative.

“Oh, Manager Shin.”

“Professor Seo? What brings you here at this hour?”

“I heard Kim Jinyoung lost his chief title without my knowledge. Could you explain what happened?”

“Oh, that.” Shin Hyun-tae paused during his rounds, his expression visibly stiffening. He usually didn’t acknowledge Seo as a fellow professor, so receiving this confrontational call caught him off guard. However, Shin Hyun-tae was still the head of a department, so he decided to handle it professionally.

He decided to handle this situation with maturity.

“The on-call doctor diagnosed it as insulinoma and reported everything accordingly, yet you criticized him without even visiting the hospital first. On top of that, you lied to me about it. And…you know how Kim Jinyoung’s reputation is tarnished, right?”

“I’m not saying your decision was wrong. I want to know why I wasn’t informed beforehand. It was my call to assign Kim Jinyoung as chief resident.”

“I tried calling you, but you didn’t pick up.”

“You don’t have my home number?”

“As the manager, do you really expect me to keep track of everyone’s personal contact information? Besides, all those missed calls would show up once you turned on your cell phone. You can’t deny seeing them, can you?”

Everything Shin Hyun-tae said was true, which only infuriated Seo Hyoseok more. This was typical behavior for someone with a small ego.

“So now you’re blaming me, correct?”

“Yes, it’s your fault. What do you think about being a university hospital professor? Why are you unreachable on weekends? Thanks to you, there could have been a serious incident… Do you know that other professors had to intervene?”

“Uh…”

“In any case, this is how things stand.”

“Hmm…”

“Don’t take out your frustration on innocent residents. If you treat them like this again, I won’t let it slide so easily.”

Kim Jinyoung and Hwang Sunwoo getting reprimanded was something Shin Hyun-tae could overlook. They often made mistakes warranting scolding, regardless of Seo Hyoseok’s involvement.

But Suhyuk, our Suhyuk, being berated by someone unworthy like Seo Hyoseok? That was simply intolerable.

Unfortunately, these words further scratched Seo Hyoseok’s pride. Moreover, Manager Shin Hyun-tae also began feeling slightly heated at the situation.

Hyoseok was younger and less skilled than Shin Hyun-tae yet continued to be defiantly disrespectful toward him.

“If I say no, then you’ll face disciplinary action. And you don’t have any published papers, right? You’re bound to fail your associate professor review again this year. Then why should I continue working as a professor here?”

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

“What?”

“My father…you know who he is, right?”

Finally, Seo Hyoseok played his trump card, one that would usually force most hospital personnel to back down. However, his opponent wasn’t so easily intimidated.

“Oh, indeed. Your father-in-law and I had dinner together last week.”

“I see.”

“He’s retiring soon, isn’t he? Despite being on the board of directors, it’s been quite a long tenure. But then…who do you think will look out for you after he leaves?”

“Well, about th—”

“In other words, don’t cause any trouble. When I overlook something, make sure to handle it properly. Don’t piss me off unnecessarily. Goodbye.”

With that, Shin Hyun-tae hung up, and Seo Hyoseok stared at his phone.

‘What a bastard?’

He couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong; all he felt was humiliation from this encounter. However, there was nothing he could do about it immediately. The father-in-law was not only a board member of Taehwa Electronics but also older than him. In terms of influence, there was no comparison between them.

“Who was on call yesterday?”

Hyoseok decided to target easier opponents first.

“You’re screwed?” Suhyuk forced himself to swallow Baruda’s comment as he raised his hand.

“Yes, Professor. It’s Lee Suhyuk, a first-year resident.”

“You diagnosed insulinoma?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And you notified Kim Jinyoung?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you come after hearing this?”

It was too late for Kim Jinyoung to rectify his mistake. Nonetheless, he had no choice but to respond.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Shouldn’t I have heard about this directly from you instead of through your manager?”

Technically, it wasn’t entirely Jinyoung’s fault, but Seo Hyoseok demonstrated how power should be wielded.

[He seems somewhat pitiful.]

‘Indeed. Despite being equally bad.’

For the first time, Suhyuk felt sympathy towards Kim Jinyoung. Of course, it didn’t mean he intended to help him.

“Do you understand? If something like this happens again, I won’t let it slide so easily.”

“Yes, Professor.”

After ranting for some time, Seo Hyoseok finished by glaring at Kim Jinyoung. Ideally, he wanted to kick Jinyoung’s shin, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it due to Shin Hyun-tae’s warning during their conversation earlier.

“Anyway, how is the plan for treating the insulinoma patient?”

Having vented his frustrations, Seo Hyoseok seemed relieved and finally brought up the patient’s condition. Suhyuk was now able to share what he had prepared all along, although it felt somewhat strange.

“Why is the professor asking about the plan? It doesn’t seem like he already knows.”

‘He lacks expertise. Perhaps he genuinely isn’t aware…’

“But can he be considered a professor?”

‘That’s just how the world works.’

After this brief internal dialogue, Suhyuk opened his mouth to speak.

“For now, I am using Diaclazide to prevent hypoglycemia.”

“Diac…?”

Suhyuk barely managed to hide his contempt as he observed Seo Hyoseok’s puzzled expression.

“Yes, it is a drug that inhibits insulin secretion.”

“That’s all you need to do?”

“Oh…I requested assistance from General Surgery. They mentioned it shouldn’t be a difficult surgery due to the tumor size.”

“Surgery? Then transferring her to General Surgery?”

“Pardon?”

Transferring patients?

The patient had an insulinoma, a typical endocrinology condition. Even if General Surgery handled the initial removal, subsequent care should have been under Internal Medicine.

“Transfer her. The department performing the surgery should oversee the case.”

“But regarding the patient’s low blood sugar and insulin regulation…”

“Ah, shut up! You’re Lee Suhyuk, right? Act like a first-year resident. Don’t argue just because you think the department manager or director is nice.”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”

“No more talk; transfer the patient now.”

With that, Seo Hyoseok shook his head and left the station.

It was quite disconcerting as they hadn’t even completed their rounds yet.

“U-um, Professor, about the patient’s face…”

The response to this question was remarkable:

“Why should I care when the patient belongs to another department!”

And with that, Seo Hyoseok disappeared. Immediately after him, Kim Jinyoung and Hwang Sunwoo also vanished.

It seemed there were others who disliked seeing patients as much as Seo Hyoseok did.

In the end, only Suhyuk remained in the hospital room.

‘Are you kidding me? Will this count towards my previous offense?’

[Analysis shows that Seo Hyoseok holds considerable power. Mentioning his name will be effective.]

‘Patient management? Most of the surgeons are already occupied with surgeries… They won’t be able to provide the same level of care as we do.’

Moreover, due to decreasing popularity in surgery recently, they were understaffed. They simply couldn’t afford to closely monitor ICU patients.

[Suhyuk can manage blood sugar levels for these patients. This could also serve as valuable experience by visiting the intensive care unit.]

‘I’m not confident about handling the intensive care unit yet…’

If the patient had an endocrinologist within Internal Medicine, Suhyuk could consult with his senior colleagues from the same department. Even Kim Jinyoung would likely be better at managing routine prescriptions for ICU patients compared to Suhyuk.

However, would they take good care of a patient already assigned to another department? Suhyuk believed it was highly unlikely.

“What are you worried about? I’m here.”

‘Yes…I guess I have to trust you.’

“Trust me?”

‘Anyway, I need to request a transfer.’

Ignoring Baruda’s sulking, Suhyuk called Surgery. As expected, they were initially incredulous but reluctantly agreed when Seo Hyoseok’s name was mentioned. Feeling somewhat apologetic, Suhyuk added:

“I will personally manage the patient’s blood sugar and any internal medicine concerns.”

“Yes… That would be great. The operating room is ready now, so please bring down the patient. Fortunately, we can perform surgery today thanks to your excellent initial treatment.”

“Yes, understood.”

Suhyuk immediately took the patient to the operating room on the third floor.

Afterward, he attended to hospital duties and studied for his paper ideas before heading to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) on the third floor when the patient was transferred from the operating room.

Naturally, it was to check on Yang Jae-won’s condition.

However, another patient caught Suhyuk’s attention.

“My wife! My wife is cheating!”

A robust patient, tied securely to the bed, was causing quite a commotion.

“Is this delirium?”

‘Probably… that seems likely?’

“Just in case, should I examine him?”

‘Should I?’