One End, Another Beginning (2)
“Is there anything I should prepare?”
Lucy shrugged and continued speaking.
“But is it really okay? I think it would be better for me to do the counseling. “It is not Mr. Choi’s role to interview psychiatric patients.”
“If it’s a normal case, Lucy is right. But this patient is a bit special.”
“If it is a special patient, you will need my help even more…”
“I am fully aware that it seems like I am only stepping forward for no reason. Still, I hope they give me a chance this time.”
Choi Ki-seok placed his hand on Lucy’s shoulder.
“If any problems arise from this consultation, I will take 100% responsibility. “Lucy can get away by saying that she only responded to a request from me, her former doctor, for consultation.”
“It’s detailed. Have you thought that far already?”
“There’s no harm in being prepared.”
While the conversation was paused for a moment, Lucy spoke first.
“Honestly, I don’t think Mr. Choi’s assumption is completely wrong. The more we consult, the more uncertain he appears…” “
….”
“But will Victor really confess to Mr. Choi?”
“If it doesn’t work out, we have to make it happen.”
Choi Ki-seok chuckled and fiddled with the pen he kept in his robe pocket.
It was a pen, but it was also a recorder.
In the past, during training at MHC Neurosurgery, Matthew was screwed for trying to falsify a death certificate using this pen.
Could you call it the so-called recorder of victory?
“Let’s go in quickly.”
“I wish you good luck.”
Leaving behind Lucy’s support, Ki-Seok Choi moved to the isolation room next to the station.
The isolation room, lit only by a sleeping light, was gloomy.
Even the items placed on the table were not easily visible.
Victor, who had been assimilated into the darkness, was sitting on the bed and fiddling with his hands, not even knowing that he had come in.
“This is Mr. Choi, who was Victor’s cardiothoracic surgeon.”
Victor gave him a look only after receiving his greeting. There was no reply to the greeting, and he just stared at Choi Ki-seok with wide eyes.
“Is there a problem?”
“I wanted to check on Victor’s condition. “Would you like to sit there for a moment?”
Choi Ki-seok took off Victor’s jacket and checked his heart and breathing sounds with a stethoscope.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with both.
The reason I used the stethoscope in the first place was to create the impression that I was there to see a doctor.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable to be in an isolation room?”
“no. Rather, it’s more comfortable here, isn’t it? “I’m scared because I don’t know what I might do if I walk around comfortably.”
Victor tapped the ground with his toe as if he was anxious, and Ki-seok Choi activated the recorder he had kept in his gown pocket.
[You used the skill because there was an objection to interrogation.]
– Right and wrong are determined through interrogation mode.
– Interrogation Mode: You can display the other person’s conversation as text and point out suspicious parts. Afterwards, if you present appropriate evidence, you can reveal the other party’s lies.
After using the skill, his eyes flashed brightly.
The fight starts now.
“If you have nothing more to say, please leave. “I want to be alone.”
“I completely understand how Victor feels, but if you talk to me, something good may come out of it.”
“Stop talking loudly.”
“I want to hear specifically about the day the incident occurred.”
Choi Ki-seok pretended not to hear him and started asking questions, but Victor strangely felt that his mouth was moving on its own.
He promised himself to keep his mouth shut, but it felt like someone was forcing his mouth to move.
I couldn’t escape that strange feeling.
[Nothing special happened on the day of the incident. My father made coffee for me and my eldest brother, and my brother and I gulped it down. When I opened my eyes, I was in the emergency room.]
A text appeared above Victor’s head.
Choi Ki-seok looked at this and became lost in thought.
“Wait! Did you fall asleep right away after drinking coffee? Do you have any other memories in between?”
[I don’t remember doing anything special enough to be memorable. I think he fell asleep while watching TV on the sofa.]
Ki-Seok Choi nodded slightly after checking the newly added text.
Slowly, contradictions were revealed in the words and situation.
“Victor, did you just say you fell asleep while watching TV on the sofa?”
[Is there something wrong?]
“According to the emergency room log and police testimony, Victor was in his room when the incident occurred. Why are their testimonies different from Victor’s memories?”
Victor’s expression changed 180 degrees at Choi Ki-seok’s point.
The gloomy expression, as if the whole world had been lost, disappeared and a sharp light like that of a wild beast appeared.
It meant that Victor sensed the purpose of this conversation and also felt a sense of crisis.
[Is that so? I don’t think it’s a big deal.]
“….”
[I guess he was watching TV on the sofa and then went to my room. Do you have an answer now?]
Victor gritted his teeth and continued the conversation.
[By the way, why did you come to see me and ask me questions about what happened back then? Knowing that my mental state is so bad that I cannot even interview the police.]
“Victor’s grandfather wants to know the truth about the incident. He absolutely believes that Victor’s father is not the criminal. “I wanted to solve his frustration.”
[So the only one who doubted it was me? This is absurd. Why on earth would I kill my father and brother? I am not that kind of immoral person.]
“….”
[If what Dr. Choi said is correct, I will become a rare piece of trash who kills my parents and siblings and acts out a mental illness. Do Asian doctors have a hobby of turning their patients into trash?]
“That was a nice word.”
[What… what?]
“I know. “The reason why Victor deliberately murdered his father and brother and framed his father.”
Choi Ki-seok paused before continuing.
“Isn’t it to pay off gambling debts? “As a result of the police investigation, it was confirmed that Victor was in deep debt to a loan shark while gambling.”
[What the fuck are you talking about? Is it okay to babble about something that has an open mouth?]
Victor’s speech quickly became rougher.
My face was hot and my arms were shaking.
“You must have prepared for this case a long time ago, knowing that your father had a large life insurance policy and that you were the beneficiary of the insurance money. In order to avoid public suspicion, Kang-soo puts himself in danger and acts as if he developed mental illness after the incident. “Am I wrong?”
Choi Ki-seok looked straight at Victor, who was about to explode.
He too was glaring at Choi Ki-seok.
As the blood-curing silence continued, Victor threw his head back and burst into laughter.
[Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I’m really going crazy.]
Victor, who was laughing wildly, turned his gaze back to Choi Ki-seok.
[okay. I did that. I was the one who killed my father and brother. Like you said, I did it because money was tight….]
“….”
[Did you expect me to say…? Crazy bastard. You are not even a doctor.]
Victor rushed in, instantly closing the distance.
Hehehe. Whoa whoa!
A sharply thrown punch hit Choi Ki-seok in the chest, and Choi Ki-seok stumbled from the surprise attack. But Victor’s actions and the current situation embarrassed him more than the pain.
Victor is not the criminal?
If he, who is acting mentally ill, is not the criminal, then who is?
I simply could not accept this fact.
[pup. A bastard like you is not even qualified to be a doctor.]
Ki-Seok Choi grabbed Victor’s arms as he rushed at him again and engaged in a struggle of strength. Meanwhile, Lucy and the security guards who had contacted him burst into the isolation room.
“Doctor Choi, come out. hurry.”
“I’m going to kill that bastard. How dare you make me out to be a scumbag! A bastard like you should be struck by lightning in the dry sky and run away. “I have to cut off all my fingers so I can’t practice as a doctor!”
Victor, who had been subdued by security guards, was forced to lie down on the bed, and nurses who arrived a beat later restrained Victor’s limbs.
In the meantime, Victor hurled all the foul language in the world at Choi Ki-seok.
“Mr. Choi, look at me for a moment.”
“Ah yes.”
Choi Ki-seok, who was standing blankly, received Lucy’s suggestion and visited the medical clinic.
“What did you do to Victor that makes you go on such a rampage? “The patient’s condition has worsened.”
“During a casual conversation… I pointed out Victor as the culprit in the incident.”
“Overtly?”
“…yes.”
“Ha… why did you do that like a fool? You have to either change your tone appropriately or encourage them to speak in a different way. “If you ask if you are the criminal, who will say ‘I am the criminal?’”
“I’m sorry Lucy.”
Choi Ki-seok could not raise his head.
I trusted my interrogation skills and took a chance, but the results were disastrous.
I didn’t have the face to look directly at Lucy.
“Anyway, as I said before, if this matter escalates, let Mr. Choi take the lead alone. I will turn off all interest in this patient from now on. “Okay?”
“All right.”
Choi Ki-seok left the medical office with slumped shoulders. Meanwhile, Victor was seen through the window, his limbs bound and receiving tranquilizer injections.
I used the Eye of Hippocrates, but the result was the same as before.
The diagnosis name was empty.
Is Victor really not the culprit in the incident?
So then, what is the reason for acting out a mental illness that does not exist?
Ki-seok Choi unconsciously placed his hand on his chest, feeling pain as if someone was squeezing his insides.
* * *
The next morning.
Choi Ki-seok woke up early in the morning and entered the training room.
I found a clue to complete my teacher’s new surgery.
If we improve this just a little bit, we will be able to bring it to a level where it can be officially announced to academia in the near future.
Standing in front of the operating table, he created a graft by weaving artificial tissue and blood vessels before the surgery.
This is the complete opposite of yesterday when the graft was created during surgery.
This is because surgical time can be shortened by producing a graft in advance.
After creating the graft, Choi Ki-seok began full-scale surgery.
As it was a surgery that was practiced at least twice a day, the surgical process went smoothly.
After completing CABG and myocardial resection with ease, the highlight of the surgery, the artificial blood vessel and tissue connection, remained.
Choi Ki-seok fitted the previously completed graft to the heart and began suturing it in earnest.
The surgical process became simpler as the graft was produced in advance.
All that was needed was to connect the major blood vessels and sew the outline of the graft.
Once the surgery was over, my vision returned to its original state.
[The teacher’s renal surgery has been completed. The overall rank of the surgery is B+.]
Choi Ki-seok, who checked the notification, raised both hands.
I did it.
If it’s rank B, doesn’t that mean the patient survived after surgery?
As the past happened like a flash, overwhelming emotions enveloped my entire body. In addition, I felt like I could finally see my teacher’s face in peace.
Choi Ki-seok finished training and visited the thoracic surgery ward.
After receiving the handover from the medical office, I attended the morning meeting, but strangely, Benson was nowhere to be seen.
I was very surprised because this was the first time he had missed a morning meeting.
‘It looks like the Head Chief has finally stepped forward. ‘I’m going to lose my shit.’
A happy smile appeared on his lips as he looked at Benson’s empty seat.
While the morning meeting ended successfully, a doctor suddenly took the podium.
He looked around the crowd and opened his mouth heavily.
“hello. This is Miguel, who was a teaching fellow at Team CPR. As of today, I plan to leave MHC and start a new home. I would like to thank my Team CPR colleagues and Professor Katarina for supporting me through my shortcomings so far. And I wish only good things to all the staff at MHC.”
