Chapter 83: Proof of Genius (III)

“Ahem.”

Suhyuk remained unfazed by Baruda’s mental attack and held onto his last hope. As he observed Hayoon, it was clear why she had become famous not only within her school but throughout the entire hospital.

‘She graduated at the top of her class…and performs exceptionally well…’

Typically, even for someone who graduates first in their class, standing out from March onwards is incredibly challenging, especially if their rotation is in the emergency department. Regardless of intelligence, most struggle like novices during this period.

‘Already garnering positive rumors.’

However, Hayoon was known for being remarkably strict yet fair. Some even praised her ability to make precise diagnoses while maintaining her firm stance, indicating her high level of accuracy.

The fact that such a talent was applying for Internal Medicine brought smiles to many professors’ faces.

“Well… it’s nothing special. I just happened to study this topic before.” Suhyuk blushed as he noticed Hayuni looking at him with admiration.

“Please… Maintain your composure…”

Bardu constantly gave advice and reprimanded Suhyuk, but it had little effect. Suhyuk’s focus was solely on Hayuni instead of Baruda.

“Oh… This is new information for me.”

Fortunately, Hayuni seemed quite fond of Suhyuk. It wasn’t necessarily romantic interest; rather, she appreciated him as a person.

In any case, their conversation flowed smoothly without much effort.

“It is somewhat similar to Malpan’s disease… However, Royce-Diaz Syndrome is much more severe.”

Moreover, since the topic was medical-related, the conversation continued effortlessly like flowing water.

“Why is that?”

“That is…”

Suhyuk paused mid-conversation and glanced towards the emergency station area. One of the residents, unfortunately, the most intimidating one with a beard, was staring directly at them. Despite having more years of experience than Suhyuk, there was no reason for him to openly observe Suhyuk this way. After all, Internal Medicine often had unpredictable interactions with Emergency Medicine, requiring constant coordination between the two departments.

Even if Suhyuk wasn’t the director’s son, there was no reason to make him an enemy. This also meant that Hayoon would be in trouble if this conversation continued for too long.

“By the way, shouldn’t you go back? Aren’t you worried about the emergency room?”

“Oh…I’m off now.”

“Huh? Ah, I see…”

Suhyuk finally noticed that Hayoon looked slightly different from earlier. Her clothes and hairstyle were unchanged except for her shoes - she had switched from Crooks to sneakers. With just removing her gown, she could leave immediately.

“Aren’t you off as well, upperclassman?” Hayoon pointed at Suhyuk’s shoes.

Suhyuk usually wore Crooks, but he was also wearing sneakers today.

“You are like a ghost?”

“I just realized it now. Thinking back, I called you right before going offline. Sorry about that.”

“No, no. It’s fine. Anyway…” Suhyuk shook his head vigorously as if to emphasize that it wasn’t her fault. His gesture might have been considered too forceful by some.

[Aren’t you feeling dizzy?]

Baruda attempted to interrupt again, but it had little effect as usual. Suhyuk was fully engrossed in his conversation with Hayoon, and currently, he was checking the time on his watch. The scheduled offline time was at 8 PM, but they were already running twenty minutes late.

This meant Suhyuk had diagnosed this complicated patient and transferred her to the appropriate department within thirty minutes.

“I’m not late at all.”

Suhyuk responded with surprise regarding his own abilities. As they naturally exited the emergency room, Hayoon walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him. In reality, due to needing a cane, Suhyuk should have been slower than most people, especially compared to impatient doctors.

‘He truly is kind.’

[Yes, you’re kind. Kind-hearted. Don’t be mistaken.]

‘No, who said anything about that?’

[Who wouldn’t say it when your face is flushed…?]

‘It’s okay; no one can see because of the darkness.’

[Darkness my foot! It’s as bright as daylight!]

Baruda briefly engaged with Suhyuk but then grumbled as Suhyuk turned away from him.

In the past, this much provocation would have been enough for Suhyuk to pay attention to Baruda’s words.

Be quiet now.

[What do you mean be quiet?!]

[Chewing? Huh? Chewing?]

[Lee Suhyuk!]

Lee Suhyuk had accumulated some Inner Strength, so he was able to ignore Baruda to a certain extent. Even if Baruda continued his ranting, it didn’t affect him anymore.

“Do you have plans later?”

Hayoon asked without realizing that Lee Suhyuk was mentally battling with Baruda continuously. Her question intrigued Suhyuk greatly.

A plan? Does she really like me?

Even though these thoughts seemed absurd, wasn’t this situation where he could receive praise instead of blame?

[I already told you, I’m not lying.]

Of course, Baruda held a different opinion, but this couldn’t sway Lee Suhyuk.

Baruda could be wrong about something outside of medicine.

[Baruda is usually correct… And Suhyuk… Please look at yourself in the mirror… You aren’t Park Bo-gum…]

The truth hurt, but Suhyuk wasn’t foolish enough to be shaken by this fact he already knew.

[S-Since we’re going out together anyway… Listen to me. I will give you advice, Suhyuk.]

Moreover, Baruda now fully understood that they were part of a shared destiny. He had painfully realized that if Suhyuk received treatment somewhere, he would also receive it. Having lived as residents with Suhyuk until now, it was strange for him not to know this aspect. Conversely, if Suhyuk became ill, Baruda would become ill too.

“No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to get some fresh air. Why?” Suhyuk responded appropriately to Hayoon’s question.

[Good. Do you remember? I analyzed all the dramas and movies stored within your mind.]

Didn’t that cause problems before when you tried it earlier?

[I tailored them according to you as the protagonist at that time. It isn’t like that now.]

Then who are you tailoring it for now?

While waiting for Hayoon’s next words, Suhyuk posed a question to Baruda. He already knew her response wouldn’t be favorable.

[Yoo Haejin?]

Well…that’s not too bad.

[She resembles Yoo Haejin.]

Resembles…

He wanted to disagree with Baruda, but Hayoon interrupted him.

“Would you like to have dinner together? I haven’t eaten either. Anyway, if I go back to the dormitory, I’ll probably end up eating ramen alone.”

“Ah… You moved to the dormitory.”

“Yes. I didn’t have the energy to go home even when I had some free time.”

Hayoon inadvertently looked towards her house’s direction. It was located in Gangnam just like Taehwa Hospital, but she couldn’t bring herself to visit it during her off-time. Her work hours were long and grueling, so it made more sense for her to sleep closer to work. Suhyuk understood this well since he never had his own place before moving into the dormitory.

“You’re right. Then…”

Suhyuk paused as he heard Baruda’s voice. Earlier, Baruda had been spouting nonsense, but now, he started providing useful information.

[Beside the hospital is a modern Korean restaurant. Uniquely, they serve wine, so it should have a good atmosphere.]

‘How do you know this?’

[I stored the conversation between Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae from a few days ago.]

‘Why did you store this? It isn’t medical knowledge.’

[Did I not mention great restaurants earlier? Did you forget? Those two are quite famous foodies within the hospital.] Baruda spoke as if he was smacking his non-existent lips.

‘You… Why does an artificial intelligence care about eating…?’

[It involves data analysis of taste.]

‘Don’t be funny… No, never mind.’

Regardless of why, Baruda’s information proved helpful this time. The ‘good places’ near the hospital that Suhyuk knew were either humble Korean-style eateries, nameless chicken shops, or Internet cafes frequented with friends during his student days.

Hayoon was also a student here, so she wouldn’t have any negative reaction to going to such places. However, Suhyuk didn’t want it this way for some reason.

“Hayoon, there is a place called ‘Sook’ nearby. Do you want to go to that Korean restaurant? The food is fusion cuisine, and they say it isn’t… too spicy or salty.”

“Ah, I’ve never heard of it before. But it seems like it will be delicious. It sounds good because the name is short.”

“Right? We can get there quickly since it is just across the street.”

The problem arose as soon as the restaurant was decided—Suhyuk couldn’t think of anything else to say. Even Baruda couldn’t provide an easy solution.

[Usually at times like this, the male protagonist would embrace the female lead amidst rain.]

Baruda had learned about romance from movies. In fact, he lacked any understanding of emotions or relationships.

Suhyuk briefly lamented why he wanted advice from this guy before bringing up a topic where he was confident.

“Ah, we stopped talking about Royce-Diaz Syndrome earlier?”

It was immediately related to medicine. If I brought up such a topic with someone else, they would likely reject me without any hesitation. Medical subjects were boring, and ‘Royce-Diaz’ sounded unfamiliar.

“Oh, that’s right.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, Hayoon wasn’t an ordinary person. She graduated at the top of her class from medical school and was a passionate medical student interested in Internal Medicine.

“What type of illness is it?” Moreover, it was related to the patient she had seen during her first clinical practice. Her eyes started to sparkle.

“In dramas, she would immediately reject you…”

Baruda shook his head at Hayoon’s reaction as he found it strange. On the other hand, Suhyuk continued the conversation with a straight face, which meant he was shameless.

“The cause is due to genetic mutations related to blood vessel and craniofacial development. What were their names again? Ah yes, TGFBR 1 and TGFBR 2. These two genes.”

“Ah…”

What would happen if someone mentioned gene names during a blind date? Baruda imagined they might receive a slap across the face with kimchi or something similar. It wasn’t something he could have fathomed before witnessing such a scene on TV, but now it seemed plausible.

However, Hayoon showed genuine interest in the topic.

“So it is related to diseases caused by TGF signaling?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Did you know this already?”

“That explains why connective tissues become weakened… What are the main symptoms?”

“The most notable symptom is eye separation. In severe cases, they can have two separate Adam’s apples or even a split palate.”

“Oh… That makes sense.”

“They also tend to develop twisted aortas or aortic dissections quite easily. It is inevitable due to their weakly formed aorta.”

“Ah… Then, the prognosis isn’t good?”

It was obvious. Since the weakness of the aorta led to dissection, there would always be a risk of recurrence.

Suhyuk was impressed by Hayoon’s deduction based on their conversation so far. He briefly glanced towards the hospital, though he couldn’t see the patient from this distance. Nonetheless, while thinking about the patient, he answered her question.

“It isn’t good. However… if we administer the right medication at the correct time, they can live longer.”

“What kind of medication?”

“Let’s discuss it more inside. I’m hungry.”

“Oh, yes. Time flies when I am with you, upperclassman.”

Her words once again triggered Suhyuk’s happiness circuitry.

She really likes me, doesn’t she?

The problem was Baruda didn’t have any additional comments to make this time either.

[Something seems off about that person…]