One End, Another Beginning (4)
[I heard there is a pediatric heart transplant surgery today? How are you feeling?]
Jeong Seol-hwa’s voice was full of worry.
She also knew the background of heart transplant surgery.
Even the fact that Choi Ki-seok visited the brain-dead parents, knelt down and asked them to donate their organs.
If even one surgery fails, it will drive a nail into the hearts of both parents.
In addition, their arrows of resentment will pierce Choi Ki-seok mercilessly.
I don’t know about Choi Ki-seok, but Jeong Seol-hwa was unable to do anything all day thinking about him.
“It’s no different than usual.”
[really? If I were you, I would feel very burdened… There were many ups and downs before I decided to have surgery…]
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m really fine.”
Choi Ki-seok continued calmly.
“I am the one who endured live surgery for conjoined twins. I can’t tolerate this much. The parents of the two children, Rahul, and I will definitely leave the operating room smiling.”
[It’s reliable. After all, he is my man.]
“Of course. “If you’re Seolhwa’s boyfriend, you should do at least this much.”
Jeong Seol-hwa felt her tight heart loosen at his joke.
A person you can trust, a person you want to lean on, a person who always takes a thorny path and makes you feel sorry for them, a person you want to comfort, a patient who only cares about the patient, a fool, etc.
It’s amazing.
Even though I spent a long time by his side, I always felt a different charm about him every time I saw him.
Today’s charm point is faith and trust.
Jeong Seol-hwa, who was infected by his confident tone, firmly believed that the surgery would not fail.
“Sleep well while dreaming of me. “What if I can’t sleep while waiting for the results of the surgery?”
[huh. okay. I’ll take a good rest.]
“Then I’m booming!”
Ki-seok Choi hung up the call and looked down at his phone.
My heart warmed as I felt her concern and consideration through the phone.
‘No problem.’
Choi Ki-seok strengthens his resolve.
Preparations for the surgery have already been completed thoroughly.
After Rahul’s heart transplant surgery date was decided.
I went back and forth from the training room to assist and even practiced at home.
In the housekeeping part, I couldn’t avoid a failing grade of D, but in the auxiliary part, I received an S rank that would make even Korean beef cry.
There may be variables such as vital management, bleeding, and blood vessel rupture that may occur during surgery, but I believed that I would be able to overcome it well with Kwon Il-soo.
Choi Ki-seok headed to the thoracic surgery ward while reviewing the surgical procedure.
Meanwhile, I ran into Benson approaching from the other side of the hallway.
Benson glared at him as if he had just met a Cheolcheon enemy, and Choi Ki-seok greeted him with an indifferent expression.
“Good morning, Professor.”
“….”
“It was a long time before the morning meeting started, but you came to work early today.”
“I have something I want to talk to you about.”
“I’m honored that the professor came to work early because of me.”
“Let’s go to the break room.”
Benson just said what he had to say and took the lead.
Soon, the two people sat down in the lounge and drank energy drinks.
No one spoke in heavy silence.
There was only tense gaze going back and forth like a ping-pong ball.
“Is it you?”
Benson growled in a deep voice.
“What do you mean by that all of a sudden?”
“Where did you get away with it? “You were the one looking through Ben’s charts.”
“ah. Are you talking about the Ben patient who received CPR a few days before surgery and was in poor condition, but died due to excessive surgery? “If it’s about that patient, it’s right for me to step forward.”
As Choi Ki-seok made a sarcastic comment, the wrinkles on Benson’s forehead deepened.
His bright red face looked like it was going to explode at any moment.
“What on earth are you going to do by digging up old things? “No matter how much you run amok, dead patients don’t come back.”
“At least his family can get relief from the injustice.”
“You son of a bitch. You are a whistleblower. There will be no one at MHC who will take your side. “No one would be nice to a person who doesn’t know when they will stab them in the back.”
“MHC’s core value is patient-centered. If you practice medicine contrary to those values, you should be punished. “If I had to use an analogy, I would be a detective of justice and the professor would be a bad villain.”
“Villain? “I’m a villain?”
thud!
Benson couldn’t control his anger and hit the table with his fist.
“You flutter your snout really well. How long can you be calm? huh?”
“well. “I haven’t thought about the exact time, but…”
Choi Ki-seok paused before continuing.
“I plan to hold out at least until the civil trial is over and the professor pays Jane a large amount of compensation.”
“This guy is real!”
After Benson narrowed the distance, he grabbed Choi Ki-seok by the collar.
The atmosphere in the lounge became dangerous, like a time bomb, due to his fierceness.
“professor. Why don’t you stop shaking so hard and hit me hard? I think it would be much better for my mental health that way…”
“Oh, I’ll do as you say.”
Whoa whoa!
Benson’s fist hit Ki-Seok Choi’s face, and Ki-Seok Choi was unable to overcome the impact and fell to the floor.
My lip was torn and blood spread around my mouth.
“My hands are colder than I thought. “It would be best not to cook if possible.”
“Is this guy still talking?”
Benson narrowed the distance with great strides and repeatedly kicked Choi Ki-seok’s stomach, where he was still lying down.
puck! puck! puck! puck!
A one-sided beating followed.
Benson could not control the anger that enveloped his entire body.
I felt like my heart would explode if I didn’t stop Choi Ki-seok right here.
“I didn’t like you from the first time I saw you. Residents end up doing surgeries that don’t fit their topic. And what? A doctor who cares about patients? “Where is something like that in this world?”
“….”
“Do you know what’s great about being a doctor? It’s all about making money. money! Or fame!”
Benson screamed and continued kicking.
After finishing the one-sided beating, he looked down at Choi Ki-seok, who was lying limp with hot snort.
It seemed like the ten-year-old congestion was finally being resolved.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave the break room, Choi Ki-seok’s voice grabbed his ankle.
“I know that being a doctor is not a great profession. I also know that many people make choices for money and fame. But do you know what makes our profession so fundamentally different from other professions?”
“….”
“What we are dealing with are people. These are people who are sick both physically and mentally. At the very least, you should not use patients as tools to eat.”
“That’s terrible.”
bang!
Benson said one word and slammed the door.
In response, Choi Ki-seok stood up and brushed the dust off his gown.
Because he was hit with skill, there were no serious injuries.
There was no difficulty in assisting with the surgery.
Crucially, if a problem arose, it was with Benson, not Choi Ki-seok.
“What should I do because I feel sorry for our professor? “Even Parker won’t be able to cover this.”
Choi Ki-seok smiled and stared at the CCTV hanging on the ceiling.
* * *
That afternoon.
The observation room for surgery was crowded with people for the first time in a while.
Many people came to watch the heart transplant surgery that would take place shortly.
Cardiothoracic surgery staff such as Yasada and Katarina Benson, as well as executives such as Song Myeong-jin and Parker, were waiting in the observation room early on.
What was different from usual was that Rahul’s parents and Gerard’s parents also visited the observation room.
“Instead of allowing an organ transplant, I would like to see the surgical procedure clearly with my own eyes.”
As Kwon Il-soo accepted Gerard’s proposal, a dramatic guardian observation took place.
“honey.”
Sharon stared at Malcolm, who was sitting next to her.
“Do we really have to do this? “I can’t bear to see my child become like that.”
“This is Gerrard’s final road. “As parents, we have a duty to see it through to the end.”
“But…”
Sharon hesitated and then turned her head.
Where her gaze landed, there was Rahul and his wife.
From the moment the couple entered the observation room, they were seriously engrossed in prayer with their hands clasped together.
It was difficult to converse easily as it looked like a sacred ceremony was taking place.
“If it’s really hard, it’s okay to go out. “The reason I requested the observation was because of my own greed, so I have no intention of forcing it on you.”
“…no. “I will also follow your wishes.”
Sharon closed her mouth and stared at the monitor.
Even though I was prepared, as the surgery time approached, my anxiety grew like a snowball. Even if he is brain dead, it is an undeniable fact that Gerrard is alive.
The moment Gerard enters Rosette, the lovely child leaves for the other world.
You will no longer be able to feel the child’s breath or warmth.
Malcolm seemed to have read Sharon’s thoughts and held her hand tightly without saying a word.
“hello.”
I turned my head at the familiar voice and Rahul’s parents came up to me and said hello.
“Thank you again for your decision. “If it weren’t for your help, Rahul would have died while waiting for a donor.”
“As someone who has children, how can I not understand the feelings of the two of you? And you can stop saying thank you because you ate so much that you were full.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. “My wife and I have been blessed with enough money to repay the debt for the rest of our lives.”
“Did you ever say thank you to Dr. Choi?”
Malcolm continued calmly.
“The reason my wife and I decided to have an organ transplant was because of Dr. Choi.”
“yes? What do you mean?…”
“A few weeks ago, Dr. Choi came to my hospital room, knelt down and asked me a favor. “There is a child dying in the thoracic surgery department waiting for a heart transplant, so I wonder if you can make a big decision.”
Sanjay looked surprised at Malcolm’s words.
It’s a reaction as if it’s the first time hearing the story.
“I had no idea. I thought there was a sudden organ transplant patient…”
“It seems Dr. Choi didn’t say anything. what. If it were him, it would be quite possible, but…”
“Ah. “My wife and I didn’t even know that.”
Sanjay lowered his head, unable to continue speaking.
‘As expected, he was a great person.’
Malcolm looked at the solemn Sanjay and was once again impressed by Choi Ki-seok’s courage.
The courage to step forward for the sake of patients and their guardians.
A sense of desperation so deep that one kneels and begs.
However, Choi Ki-seok, who thoroughly hid his actions, is clearly a real doctor.
I was sure that he would give Rahul a new life and that Gerard’s noble sacrifice would not be in vain.
“It’s been a long time since I attended a pediatric heart transplant surgery. “What are your expectations for today’s surgery?”
Even though Parker, who had his arms crossed, looked at Benson, Benson didn’t react in any way.
“Benson?”
“ah. sorry. “I have something to think about for a moment…”
“You seem uncharacteristically absorbed today. “Did something bad happen?”
“Ah… no. “That doesn’t happen.”
Parker’s eyes narrowed at Benson’s strong denial.
“If it’s something you’ve been disciplined for, you don’t need to take it to heart too much. Because I was just unlucky. Instead, focus on what’s ahead.”
“All right.”
“by the way. Is it okay to make the audience wait like this?”
Parker rubbed his chin and stared at the monitor.
Even though it was 2pm, the surgery time, the rosette shown on the monitor was empty.
Jiyiing.
The surgical staff came into the rosette as soon as they could speak.
Pediatric heart transplant surgery has begun.
