Golden Time

Taking off his eyes from the microscope, he turned his head to Suhyuk.

And his eyes were asking him, ‘What is the matter?’

Suhyuk, staring at the monitor, said, “The cage seems to have been nailed astray.”

At his words, the medical staff looked at him sharply.

How dare an intern disagree with Prof. Lee Mansuk, the top surgeon in the country?

On the other hand, Lee stared at the microscope.

‘Where does he say it’s been rammed astray?’

In his eyes, it was being nailed properly.

“Mr. Lee Suhyuk.”

He approached Lee.

“I think it’s okay. The monitor screen and the microscope may look a little different from seeing it with your own eyes. Do you want to take a look?”

The medical staff opened their eyes at Lee’s voice at his suggestion to Suhyuk like that.

It was not something Lee would say to an intern.

In the surgery room, the professor was usually quiet.

Only the sound of surgical tools moving was heard.

Unlike his typical style, though, Prof. Lee yielded the monitor chair to him.

Suhyuk took his eyes at the fixed microscope.

“About 1mm seems to have stuck out.”

Looking at the monitor, Lee tilted his head. However hard he checked it, he could not see it.

Did he underestimate Suhyuk who would be his disciple?

Then Suhyuk moved his hand.

“Hey, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?”

Ignoring the resident’s shouting, he took his hand to the patient’s head covered with a sheet.

“Looks like his head seems to have been twisted a bit.”

Then he twisted it a bit to the right.

“Are you crazy?” said a resident and then walked up to Suhyuk.

“Stop it.”

Then Prof. Lee looked at the resident and the medical staff.

“Do I have to correct the patient’s surgery position? How long have I been here with you?”

The resident bowed his head a bit, saying, “One year, sir.”

Lee, frowning his face, looked at the medical staff one by one.

“Two years, sir.”

“Me too, sir.”

Shaking his head at their replies, Lee gestured with his eyes toward the monitor.

And then they could not help but be surprised.

The cervical vertebrae was back to being straight, and the cage, which was visibly embedded with the naked eye, protruded sideways. If it went a little further, it could easily have touched the nervous system. The patient was undergoing surgery with his neck twisted. It was a very fine twisting, but n.o.body caught it.

Lee was helpless in that situation, too.

He had to look at it, only 3-4mm, with a microscope.

It seemd like he would have sweared at them had he checked the X-ray of the patient after the surgery. It was a source of trouble that he relied on them too much.

“Don’t prepare the surgery next time without my permission.”

He was not in a position to blame others. Actually he was to blame most of all because he did not catch it. Still, he could not help but feel upset at the medical staff who were avoiding meeting his eyes.

On the other hand, he was smiling at Suhyuk. What a guy.

Approaching him, Lee asked,

“I have to pull it out, right?”

“No, sir.”

Everyone including Prof. Lee was stunned at Suhyuk’s action then.

He was sticking an iron rod into the patient’s open neck. Besides, he stroked it lightly with a hammer. It all lasted for a moment, so n.o.body stopped him.

With their eyes opened widely, the medical staff and Lee were just speechless, when Suhyuk said, “All done.”

Lee turned his head away from the monitor and took his eyes to the microscope fixed at his neck. The cage stuck out like a disc has been nailed down properly.

Looking into the microscope, Lee thought of Suhyuk standing behind him. He felt his heart pounding strongly. Did he have any propensity to act like a man? No, it wasn’t that kind of propensity.

His joy at seeing Suhyuk was like finding a real diamond in the rough.

“The patient monitor indicates normal.”

At the perfusionists’ words, Lee took his eyes off from the microscope, and looked at Suhyuk.

“Do you know how to do st.i.tching?”

“Yes, sir.”

Lee nodded his head, completely mesmerized by his charm.

“Okay, do it then.”

Lee was watching him st.i.tching, with a satisfactory smile.

There was nothing that stood in his way.

On the other hand, the medical staff were looking at him with a dumbfounded look.

However, jealousy, envy, or anything like that, could not be found on their faces.

They just watched him blankly.

Suhyuk, who drew all their attention like that, was only thinking of the patient.

“The surgery’s well done. Now, go and watch movies and have delicious food with your wife. Enjoy your life like that.”

***

The patient, who opened his eyes in the recovery room, repeatedly clinched and opened his palm with a frown. Obviously he felt the pain after the neck surgery.

Soon he made a smile at Lee.

“I don’t feel pain or numbness on my hands.”

Lee said, smiling, “Mr. Lee Suhyuk standing here did the surgery very well.”

His pupil turned to the man standing beside Prof. Lee.

With a gentle smile, Suhyuk said, “Shall we go out, sir?”

Suhyuk went out of the surgery room, pus.h.i.+ng the stretcher where the patient lay.

The door opened, and his wife, pacing around the room, raced toward him.

“Are you okay, honey?”

Nodding at her from the stretcher, the patient held out his hands.

Cautiously holding his hands, she turned her head to Suhyuk.

“Did the surgery go well?”

Suhyuk opened his mouth calmly,

“Once he’s discharged, he might often sit on the sofa or lie on the bed, citing pain. That’s a lie, so ask him to make delicious food together.”

At his words, she smiled with relief, and her husband could not help but wear a strange smile due to the lingering pain from his neck.

After guiding the patient into the ward, he went out, with some instructions about some cautions and a supplemental follow-up treatment later.

“How do you feel about having directly partic.i.p.ated in the surgery?”

Suhyuk nodded his head at Lee’s question, saying, “I felt great, sir. Thanks for your consideration.”

Rather than his having partic.i.p.ated in the surgery, the fact that the patient opened eyes without any problem and that he could laugh together with his family made him feel good. He felt his empty heart filling up with something warm. Can other doctors feel this way? The type of a doctor he had in mind was like this.

“Oh, you were here,” said someone suddenly from his side.

It was Kim Jinwook’s voice.

While Suhyuk bowed his head for greeting, Lee came forward, covering him about half, saying,

“Are you talking about me?”

Kim shook his head. “No, I’ve been looking for Suhyuk. I called him several times, but found his phone turned off. I wonder if the battery is dead.”

Called him several times?

“Sorry, sir. I should have recharged the battery. I wonder if you have anything to say...”

At his asking, Kim nodded his head.

“Sure, I was going to ask you to join me for dinner.”

At that moment Prof Lee cut in, “Today Suhyuk partic.i.p.ated in surgery for the first time. He must be very tired now, so I was going to let him take a long break at his lodging.”

Kim gently smiled, replying,

“I’m not asking him to have a workout with me. If he did surgery for the first time, he must have used up much of his physical energy. I think I have to chat with him over meat.”

“Don’t you know he’s a.s.signed to the neurosurgery department? If someone has to treat him, it has to be me. Don’t you think so, Mr. Lee?”

Prof. Lee looked at Kim, asking Suhyuk like that.

Kim said with a smile,

“Well, I’d like to meet him not in a formal setting, but in an informal setting where he and I feel each other are like brothers. In other words, like a meeting between an elder brother and a younger one.”

At Kim’s mention of elder brother and younger brother, Lee’s eyebrows wiggled instantly.

“Well, I think I can join even such a meeting.”

Suhyuk was a.s.signed to neurosurgery department, so he could not move anywhere without his permission. Then, Kim’s eyes twinkled. He looked at Suhyuk, nodding meekly as if he understood Lee’s remarks, and said,

“You must have lots of hard times... Do you sleep at all? Can you eat on time? Prof. Lee. I hope he’s in good hands. Please see to it that he has break time. Suhyuk, I think we have to eat meat next time.”

Kim’s remarks were intended for Suhyuk to listen to.

Prof. Lee frowned as if Kim got him first.

At that moment a guy, suddenly appearing before them, said, “Well I’m afraid I have to have meat with him today.”

Suhyuk and the two professors turned their heads to the side.

A guy casually dressed in training pants. He was none other than Dongsu.

When the two professors cast a suspicious look at him, Suhyuk answered, “He’s my friend, sir.”

At his remarks, Dongsu shook his head and showed his ID to the two professors.

“I’m a prosecutor. I just joked about the meat.”

Showing his ID to the professors, he said to Suhyuk, “You have to come to the court room right away.”

Suhyuk’s eyes opened wider. “What’s the matter?”

Dongsu smiled gently, and said, “That hit-and-run motorcycle guy, I caught that son of a b.i.t.c.h.”

—–

Suhyuk and Dongsu went out of the hospital right away, and got in a taxi.

“How did you catch him?”

“Because I’m your brother.”

Shaking his head, Suhyuk opened his mouth, “CCTV?”

“Yeah,” Dongsu replied.

Dongsu combed through all the CCTVs at the place where Suhyuk had an accident.

For three days and nights with bloodshot eyes. With all the time and effort he put in to that, he felt that he could catch the hit-and-run motorcycle suspect. This. .h.i.t-and-run suspect that hit his friend.

h.e.l.l bent on catching the suspect by all means, Dongsu pushed his detectives hard and was able to catch him at the end of the day.

“I’m almost sure that b.a.s.t.a.r.d is the suspect. Around that time when you had an accident, there was only one motorcycle that pa.s.sed by that area.”

Suhyuk nodded his head. So, the taxi drove on and on, and soon arrived at the police station.

When Dongsu went in, the detectives rose from their seats and bowed their heads.

Suhyuk smiled at that, and felt secure about him who acted like a good-for-nothing guy usually.

“Detective Oh, put that b.a.s.t.a.r.d into the interrogation room now.”

“Yes, sir.”

A detective opened an iron door and disappeared. Dongsu, guiding Suhyuk, walked through the hallway, and when they approached about halfway down the hallway, he pulled open one door.

“Come in. This is the first time you came into an interrogation room?”

When Suhyuk went in with a grin, he saw a big window. A guy with handcuffs came in.

“The suspect is that b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”

Suhyuk closely looked at the guy inside the window.

“Then, what’s wrong with face?”

One of his eyes were black and blue.

“Can you recognize him?” asked Dongsu.

“Didn’t I tell you the suspect was wearing a helmet?”

He nodded his head, understanding what he meant by that.

“Yeah, you said that. Do you want to know something funny then?”