Golden Time

Coming out of the patient’s room, Park sat on the hallway bench feebly.

His shoulders drooped, he tried hard not to close his drooping eyelids.

Suddenly, what he had experienced at emergency medical department came to his mind.

Dressing, blood collection, CT, MRI, endoscopy tests, and getting consent forms, etc.

Besides, he had to keep a watchful eye on the patients under anesthesia to check if they were falling from the bed.

Yet it was worse at the cardiothoracic surgery department.

‘I feel like dying.’

Park thought like that. How many hours did he sleep for during the past few days?

Nine hours? Ten hours?

Though he was only an intern, he felt he was being mistreated.

He had no work to do except for following Suhyuk.

That was the problem, though.

Suhyuk kept seeing the patients as if he had an indefinite physical strength like a robot.

Also, his explanation of the diseases.

He felt he was going crazy because of Suhyuk’s outpouring explanation whenever he met patients. His explanation was easy, but it was enormous enough to have him retch.

He felt like he was being tormented.

‘I want to sleep... Just 10 minutes...’

At that moment, Suhyuk came out of the patient room that he had entered into a while ago.

He just finished checking the patient’s condition one more time.

Park sprang to his feet.

“You look tired. Go home and take a rest.”

Park, with his bloodshot eyes, shook his head.

“I’m alright, sir.”

‘Please tell me once more to take a rest.’

How can he accept big senior Suhyuk’s request right away? If Suhyuk insisted once more, then Park would be ready to go to the lodging with reluctant acceptance.

‘Please, sir...’

But his wishes did not come true, as he expected.

Suhyuk was looking at him proudly, and Park could not betray his expectation.

Turning back, Suhyuk headed back to the patient’s room.

“This is a patient with partial anomalous pulmonary venous connection. This disease is less than 1% of congenital malformation...”

Park, following him with faltering steps, wanted to shut his ears to Suhyuk’s words.

The next morning.

Im, who just came back after having been dispatched to the heavy injuries center, was stunned to see Park. His skin was rough and dry, and he looked pale as a ghost as if he did not sleep for three days straight. Im looked at Suhyuk.

“Don’t you think you’re giving Park too much of a hard time?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Suhyuk looked at Park.

“I’m in good hands, sir. He doesn’t give me any hard work...”

“Then, how come your face looks so haggard? Were you doing something else instead of sleeping at night?”

Park just felt tight in heart.

He did not work, but... He just felt crying.

“Well...”

“Tell me. What is it? What did you do yesterday?’

“I just followed Dr. Lee Suhyuk.”

“Just following him? Was that all? You didn’t collect blood, either?”

“Yes... but in the morning...”

Without hearing him out, Im looked at Suhyuk with a frown.

“Hey, Lee Suhyuk. Are you here to take care of a picnic boy? From now one, let Park do the ch.o.r.es of dressing, getting the consent forms for the patient’s examinations, etc. Don’t you think Park was just fooling around after leaving the office as you’re so nice to him?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hearing Suhyuk’s reply, Im then looked at Park and said scoldingly, “Do it right, okay?”

Park bowed his head and said, “Yes, sir. I’ll work hard.”

At the same time, Park said to himself from the bottom of his heart,

“Thank you Dr. Im. You saved me!”

He felt as if he could regain his strength because he could work independently from Suhyuk for a while.

“By the way, Lee. The professor wants to see you. Park, come and follow me.”

Park quickly followed Im.

Suhyuk felt pitiful about him because he would have to take on lots of work from now on.

***

Suhyuk headed for the professor’s office.

“Did you look for me, sir?”

With a soft smile, Han asked him to sit and offered him a cup of coffee.

“Is your new intern working well?”

Suhyuk nodded his head.

“Yes. He seems to have a strong determination to learn.”

“That’s good to hear. Recently I haven’t found any interns interested in cardiothoracic surgery.”

Except for Lee Suhyuk who wa right before his eyes.

“Why did you call me, sir?”

Han shook his head from side to side.’

“Well, I heard that a TV network is sending their crew here to cover our hospital in the form of a doc.u.mentary.”

Suhyuk was surprised suddenly. He reacted reflexively at the word ‘broadcast.’

‘Hopefully not the cardiothoracic surgery department.’

When he sometimes watches a TV doc.u.mentary, it often showed the emergency room.

“Are they coming to cover the cardiothoracic surgery department by any chance?”

Han, nodding his head, took coffee to his lips.

“Why are they covering us rather than other departments?”

“How should I know, seeing as the higher-ups made the decision?”

“Please make sure they don’t shoot me, sir.”

Other doctors are trying hard to have their faces shot on the TV screen more, and some of them pa.s.s by the shooting scene on purpose.

“I think they are coming to film me intensively.”

Suhyuk made a blank expression because he had to follow Han wherever he moved.

Whether he was moving for the patient’s examination or surgery, it did not matter.

Reading Suhyuk’s expression, Han made a feigned laugh because he had a miserable scowl on his face.

“Don’t you like it?”

“To be honest, I don’t like it, sir.”

“Any reason?”

He had only one reason. He did not want to draw any attention.

What kind of situation would develop if his face appeared on TV even for a moment?

He was not an entertainer in any way.

Firming up his mind, he said, “Well, I’m afraid it will disturb me when I see patients or when I partic.i.p.ate in surgery.”

While having coffee, Han cleared his throat as if he got something caught in his windpipe.

How could any doctor say such a thing to the TV crew?

Clearing his throat, Han opened his mouth,

“That makes sense, but the audience watching the doc.u.mentary could change their thinking a bit.”

Suhyuk made a perplexed expression.

“Do you know what they think about doctors usually? They think doctors are infected with their social status behaving high and mighty or that they treat patients roughly. Of course not all people think like that but...”

Moistening his throat with coffee, Han said again,

“That’s why doctors like you should appear on TV. There are doctors like you who don’t look at the patients as money and don’t perform difficult surgeries. We should be on TV to say that. It’s like a dagger we’re darting to those doctors without conscience, so they can feel the pang of conscience sharply.”

Suhyuk nodded at Han’s smile.

There was nothing wrong with Han’s remarks.

Though he did not want to be seen on TV, at the same time he wanted to inform the audience that there are doctors working hard, like Han said.

Of course, that type of doctor would be Prof. Han.

In his opinion, Han was the best doctor who put the patient before anything else.

All he had to do was just help the TV crew film him.

If that’s the case...

At that moment Suhyuk thought of an interesting idea.

“When do they start filming?”

Han smiled at Suhyuk’s asking.

“We’re going to have a meeting in three hours.”

Suhyuk laughed awkwardly.

***

While turning over a chart, Suhyuk received a call.

“What are you doing? Come here now!”

“Yes, I’m coming now.”

After he hung up the phone, he walked to the conference room reluctantly, and he opened the door.

Some strangers were talking with the professors of the cardiothoracic surgery.

“By the way, why are you wearing a mask?”

Han, talking with the TV crew, looked at him.

“I have a cough, sir.”

“You were perfectly normal a short time ago, right?”

“Looks like I have had a latent cough then.”

“That’s why you should have taken care of your body as a rule.”

After having said that, Han made a serious joke to the director of photography next to him,

“See. Doctors don’t take care of their own sickness. This is Dr. Lee Suhyuk, a very capable doctor.”

Suhyuk was surprised at his name being mentioned suddenly, and read the director’s countenance.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Han Woontaek.”

When he reached out his hand, Suhyuk could breathe a sigh of relief.

Director Han was not aware of him.

“Nice to meet you, too. My name is Lee Suhyuk.”

So, they talked with the TV crew about the doc.u.mentary project.

Their discussion could be summed up like this.

Namely, just work as usual while the TV crew are filming it in a way that they would not disturb them as much as possible.

Their discussion ended soon, and Suhyuk went out of the room.

Then he heard the director directing his crew members.

“Number 2 camera, Woojin, you shoot a film of Dr. Lee Suhyuk.”

A young guy approached Suhyuk right after the director’s order.

He looked to be in his late 20s, with a round physique.

Holding his camera, he opened his mouth,

“My name is Kim Woojin. I look forward to your help for one week, sir.”

“I thought you would focus on Prof. Han. Isn’t it true?”

“You’re right. Prof. Han is our main focus, but we need to take a shot of other doctors. Our director already explained about it at the meeting.”

Suhyuk’s sigh came out his mask quietly, and he opened his mouth,

“Okay, got it. Hope I’m in good hands, too.”

Outside the conference room Suhyuk and the director were walking on the hallway.

Patients and nurses looked at them curiously because it was unusual.

“May I ask about your job t.i.tle here?”

Mr. Kim Woojin, a.s.signed to taking a shot of Suhyuk asked.

“I’m in my first year of residency. Why are you asking that?”

“Well, we have to put in the captions when we edit the filmed material. When we air the doc.u.mentary, your name and job t.i.tle comes in.”

Suhyuk stopped walking and slowly turned back, saying,

“Can you just take out my name and describe me as a resident?”

As he was wearing a mask, only his glittering eyes were seen.

At least it was what the cameraman could see.

“Let me ask the director then...”

He took out his cell phone and called the director,

“Sir, it looks like Dr. Lee Suhyuk doesn’t want his name and t.i.tle identified.”

Kim handed his phone to Suhyuk then.

“He wanted to talk to you, sir.”

Suhyuk was handed the phone, and said, “Please respect my wish.”