Chapter 8: The Genius Lee Suhyuk (2)

What had he missed? Suhyuk’s forehead furrowed deeper with each passing moment.

As usual, it was Baruda who brought him back to reality.

[Suhyuk, the caregiver’s condition is not normal. It would be good to examine her.]

This time, it wasn’t their typical argument but rather a very useful piece of advice, timely and appropriate.

“Ah.”

Thanks to this, Suhyuk realized he had been making others uneasy by muttering to himself. He finally focused on the caregiver.

“Cough, cough.”

She continuously coughed, and the color of her phlegm was concerning. She looked almost indistinguishable from a patient, except for not wearing a hospital gown.

“May I listen to your lungs briefly?”

“A-ah, yes.”

When Suhyuk listened to his lungs, there was crackling heard from both lower lobes of the lungs. Even with Suhyuk’s inexperienced stethoscope usage, it was clear enough for him to detect easily. It meant pneumonia, and quite advanced at that.

‘Can bacterial pneumonia spread…this quickly?’

For someone who had access to South Korea’s average infrastructure, it was strange for a bacterial infection to deteriorate so rapidly. In fact, it seemed implausible.

[It is possible that Kim Jinchul was not the source of the caregiver’s infection.]

‘Ah… Then… then it makes sense. Hmm.’

[According to nursing records, there were no notable travel histories. There is a possibility that the infection originated within the local community.]

‘What kind of bacteria is living in this community? It’s spreading too quickly. If it had spread, there would have been news about it.’

[I believe that should be investigated by Suhyuk.]

‘This damn AI…’

However, currently, Suhyuk was in urgent need to solve the case.

‘If I can correctly diagnose this patient…I might see a path towards becoming a professor.’

Compared to professors from other departments, medical professors were more accessible to those without financial means. Still, it wasn’t wide open; one could say there was just a narrow opportunity available.

But what if he successfully diagnosed this condition?

At the very least, among his peers, he would stand out as the most accomplished, even if not immediately at Taehwa Medical Center.

[How worldly of you, Suhyuk.]

‘Go through hardships like I did and see how it turns out.’

[I find it difficult to understand, but I will cheer for you.]

‘What’s this?’

[I judged that becoming a professor aligns with your goal of being the world’s best diagnostician and internal medicine specialist.]

‘I guess…well…that makes sense.’

As Baruda suggested, if Suhyuk became the world’s top internal medicine specialist, becoming a professor would be insignificant. He could potentially work in the United States with unlimited opportunities instead of Korea.

However, all these thoughts were mere fantasies at present. Currently, Suhyuk was just a limping, struggling first-year internist - nothing more, nothing less.

To make his dreams a reality, he needed to diagnose this patient somehow.

“Excuse me, caregiver.”

Suhyuk decided to speak first with the patient’s caregiver.

“Huh? Yes!” The caregiver was momentarily taken aback when the person, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly turned and addressed them.

Despite wondering why this individual acted as such, Suhyuk didn’t forget what he needed to say.

“Based on my observation, I suspect pneumonia for the patient. And…” Suhyuk briefly glanced at the clock hanging in the hospital room before continuing. “Since outpatient hours have ended, please accompany me to the emergency room. I’ll assist you with registration and ensure immediate testing.”

“Oh…is it that serious?”

The caregiver looked at Suhyuk with deep concern etched on their face.

What should I tell them?

“He might die,” Baruda interjected.

‘Keep quiet, you crazy bastard.’

Baruda’s statement was designed to manipulate human psychology, potentially leading someone to suspect his artificial intelligence.

“Let’s just check. Just take a look.”

Fortunately, Suhyuk did not adopt Baruda’s insane suggestion. Unlike what others, including the director, might think, he wasn’t reckless. Instead, having experienced hardships himself, Suhyuk understood the importance of considering others. He was likely more thoughtful than most first-year residents.

“Oh… Yes.”

“You should also get checked out, just in case.”

“Yes. It would be…good to do so. Cough!”

Despite her seemingly fine appearance, the caregiver appeared genuinely worried about her daughter. This concern was understandable given her husband’s deteriorating health day by day. The thought of losing their daughter as well seemed unbearable.

It would be unbearable if his daughter also suffered here.

“Then let’s go together. You might have to wait since it is past dinner time at the emergency room. There will be a rush of patients. It usually gets busier after regular hours end.”

In truth, being only in his first year was the main reason for Suhyuk’s hesitation. As an intern rotating through different departments each month without any set schedule, he had it better than some residents. However, this comparison was merely among varying degrees of servitude. Despite having slightly improved conditions, to others, he was still just another slave.

“Oh, hello Suhyuk. What brings you here?”

Upon entering the emergency station, Suhyuk encountered Dr. Kim, aka ‘Furry’, who greeted him unusually warmly.

‘Is this person crazy?’

Suhyuk barely knew his name. Everyone just called him ‘Fuzzy’. Once they became interns, everyone realized that Fuzzy was synonymous with devil. It was natural given how he nitpicked over trivial matters and constantly yelled at them.

Suhyuk had been summoned multiple times to be unjustly reprimanded by Fuzzy. The first thing Suhyuk checked upon arriving every morning was whether Fuzzy was present, as it determined if he’d have a good or bad day.

“Yes, yes. Sir.”

“Okay. Are you looking for something?”

However, today Fuzzy’s attitude seemed angelic.

‘Does he want me to do some work related to Internal Medicine?’

Suhyuk had no idea about the rumor that he might be the director’s hidden son, so he continued to speak politely as usual, just like with everyone else:

“Oh, yes. They are guardians of my patients. I suspect they may have been infected, so I want to perform blood tests and X-rays.”

“Ah, okay.” The hairy man quietly responded while grooming his bristly hair.

Normally, he would have immediately questioned if Suhyuk was crazy. However, there were rumors circulating in their group chat about Lee Suhyuk potentially being the director’s son. Even if not true, it was widely believed that Suhyuk had the director’s full backing, making it unwise for anyone to treat him disrespectfully, especially someone like Hairy, who already had a history of causing chaos at the hospital.

In that case, it would be inappropriate to treat Suhyuk casually. This was especially true for the bearded man who had already caused chaos at the hospital before.

“If you go to the administrative office and give them your patient numbers, I’ll process them immediately.”

“Ah, thank you, senior.”

“No problem. You know, I always take care of things well.”

“Uh…yes…”

Suhyuk wondered if his colleague might have been drinking as he headed towards the patients and the administrative office.

“Cough cough.”

Patient Kim Jinchul’s wife Ok Jin-kyung continued to cough while their daughter Kim Se-hee appeared fine. Despite being exposed around the same time, their conditions were completely different.

‘Something is definitely strange.’

[I recommend reviewing the test results first.]

‘Oh, really?’

Suhyuk blinked as he registered both patients and informed the bearded man of this fact. As promised earlier, the bearded man promptly assigned personnel to perform blood tests and X-rays for them.

Feeling relieved that the bearded man was in such high spirits today, Suhyuk notified the caregiver about the situation.

“Please wait a moment. It will take some time for the results.”

“Yes, doctor.”

Thanks to the bearded man’s prompt action, Suhyuk could review the images immediately after arriving at the emergency room.

‘Hmm.’

[There is increased shadowing in the lower lobes of both lungs consistent with pneumonia.]

Patient Ok Jin-kyung’s X-ray confirmed her diagnosis of pneumonia, just as his stethoscope examination had indicated. Even though Suhyuk wasn’t well-versed in reading X-rays, the shadows were distinct enough for him to notice.

[There is nothing unusual visible on patient Kim Se-hee’s chest X-ray.]

In contrast, Kim Se-hee’s image was clean. It was completely normal. The subsequent test results were similar.

‘Patient Ok Jin-kyung has elevated neutrophils. It confirms bacterial pneumonia.’

[Kim Se-hee is entirely normal. There are no signs of infection.]

‘Strange…’

Even if it was in the incubation period, there should be some changes in the blood test. After all, bacteria had entered her body, and a battle would have occurred within her system. However, Kim Se-hee’s blood test showed tranquility.

‘According to the patient’s statement, Kim Se-hee came into contact with Kim Jinchul and Ok Jin-kyung three days ago. But she isn’t infected.’

[…]

‘Why is it so quiet? Is this unsettling?’

[I have considered various possibilities.]

‘What were the results?’

[If the source of infection isn’t human, only the primary contacts, Kim Jinchul and Ok Jin-kyung, could be infected.]

‘Ah.’

[I request additional questioning.]

It was a kind of shift in perspective. Suhyuk felt like he had been hit on the back of his head with a hammer as he approached patient Ok Jin-kyung.

“Cough cough.”

Patient Ok Jin-kyung continued to cough. It seemed more severe than before, and apparently, Suhyuk wasn’t mistaken.

[Baruda: The frequency has increased. I recommend using an oxygen supply device.]

Baruda’s opinion echoed Suhyuk’s thoughts, and upon monitoring, her oxygen saturation had dropped to around 93%.

“First, put this on your nose.”

Suhyuk placed the oxygen supply device on her nose and continued questioning her.

“By any chance, have you recently visited a farm or somewhere animals are raised?”

“Huh? No. No. Nothing like that happened.”

“Hmm.”

As Suhyuk pondered if his assumption was incorrect, Kim Se-hee interrupted him.

“We do have pets at home, Mom.”

“Oh, well… they are small animals.”

Ok Jin-kyung seemed to dismiss it as insignificant, but from a doctor’s perspective, it couldn’t be ignored. Often, seemingly trivial details mentioned by patients turned out to be crucial clues.

“What kind of pets do you have?”

“Oh, nothing much, really.”

“It’s an important question, Mrs. Ok. What type of animals are they?”

While asking the question, Suhyuk was confused whether it was important for the patient or crucial for his professorship. In any case, Suhyuk’s serious expression seemed to convince Kyunghye.

“Parrot. Oh, she is small.”

“A parrot?”

“Yes.”

A parrot. A parrot…

Suhyuk continued repeating the word ‘parrot’ several times. As a result, he ended up staring into space and talking to himself again. Ok Jin-kyung and Kim Se-hee didn’t find this strange since they had observed Suhyuk acting similarly earlier.

Meanwhile, Baruda completed his calculations almost simultaneously with Suhyuk, leading both of them to recall the same disease:

‘Psittacosis.’

[Chlamydia psittacosis.]