Boss, It's My First Time Being Your Resident - Chapter 49

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 49. My First Assistant

“We’re honored to have such a wonderful attending physician as the protagonist of ‘Romance and Medicine’! Dr. Tae Heon, would you mind explaining this surgery in a way our viewers can easily understand?”

Yu Ju gazed at Tae Heon with sparkling eyes.

A Gang’s fingertips curled into her palms without her noticing.
Her gaze toward Tae Heon seemed less like a host’s professional interest and more like a woman’s attraction.

“First, we’ll remove the bullet embedded in Tawan’s thigh and reconstruct the damaged bone. After that, our goal is to use Skin Flap Surgery to rebuild the lost soft tissue and skin so the child can develop normally.”
“What is Skin Flap Surgery?”

Yu Ju asked.

“Put simply, it’s surgery where we harvest skin and tissue from another part of the body and use it to cover the damaged area.”
“That’s quite a complex procedure. But don’t we often see people who’ve carried bullets in their bodies for decades without any problems?”
“That kind of luck does happen sometimes. If he were an adult, it might have been possible. But Tawan is still a growing boy. As his bones grow and muscles develop, the bullet will continue to shift position.”

Tae Heon pressed the remote, and Tawan’s CT scan appeared on the large screen installed beside the platform.

“As you can see here, the bullet is embedded in the Quadriceps Femoris.”
“That’s the muscle on the front of the thigh?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Looking at the bone surface, it appears the bullet grazed the Femur at an angle when it was lodged there. Over time, its position has shifted medially and is now even compressing a nerve.”

Tae Heon pointed to the small, blunt metal object in the CT scan with a red marker.

“This long vessel here is the Femoral Artery. If the bullet shifts even 3 millimeters in this direction, it will touch the artery. It’s a time bomb.”

At Tae Heon’s explanation, A Gang swallowed hard.

Three millimeters. That was all that separated the child from the Femoral Artery.

The boy stood at the border between life and death—a gap smaller than half a pinky nail.

Now she understood why the local hospital had recommended such an extreme treatment.

Perhaps amputation was the safest choice after all.

One wrong touch on the Femoral Artery, rupture, massive hemorrhage—Table Death during surgery. It was an perilous situation.

If they amputated carefully, avoiding the artery, life would be preserved.
Sacrificing the leg to save the life was the standard medical judgment.

“Given these circumstances, amputation seems quite likely?”

Yu Ju narrowed her eyes and asked sharply.
The Lobby stirred.

“No. Amputation is not an option I’m considering.”

Tae Heon’s voice was resolute and measured.
The murmuring crowd fell silent in an instant.

“We’ll preserve the leg.”
“Really? But that’s what was discussed in the afternoon conference——”
“Depending on the extent of adhesions and damage, we can adjust the amount of bone resection or the scope of grafting. But I will save the leg, without fail.”

The moment Tae Heon finished speaking, reporters’ fingers began flying across laptop keyboards.

Real-time news briefs rushed to decorate every portal.

“This surgery will proceed as a Multidisciplinary Team. Trauma surgery will handle bullet extraction and bone reconstruction, while plastic surgery will handle soft tissue and skin reconstruction through Skin Flap Surgery.”

“Tawan’s surgery is not one where I’m the protagonist. It’s a surgery where specialists from each field work together.”

Tae Heon’s voice was calm yet commanding.
A Gang listened intently, etching his words into her heart.

“And I’m neither a hero nor a boss. I’m simply one member among the many medical professionals here.”

He set down the microphone without emotion as he added this.

The content hadn’t been in the script—Yu Ju’s face turned pale.

“Excessive humility is its own arrogance, isn’t it? Ha ha. Next, we have a small concert prepared by the Sae In Foundation. I hope you’ll all enjoy it with us.”

Yu Ju forced an awkward laugh and hurried to the next segment.

Soon string quartet music—violin, viola, and cello—filled the Lobby.

A Gang turned toward the Trauma Center, leaving behind the elegant melodies streaming through the venue.

***

Filming and conferences continued without pause into the late afternoon.

A Gang waited anxiously at one end of the Trauma Center corridor.

She saw Tae Heon walking toward her in the distance.

Though he’d weathered back-to-back emergency surgeries without a tremor, the battle before the camera had clearly taken its toll—fatigue lay heavy on his face.

Not in his usual surgical scrubs but in a crisp dress shirt and tie with a white coat over it, he looked particularly flawless and composed today.

A Gang had been quietly observing his complexion, but the moment he drew near, she hastily extended both arms.

Strawberry Milk, Barley Tea, Pine Leaf Flavored Drink, and Zero Cola.
Cans and bottles were precariously held between her slender fingers.

“I wasn’t sure what you liked…… You don’t seem to drink coffee.”
“Whoa, whoa! They’re slipping! Bribes again?”

Tae Heon quickly caught the drinks with his large hands.

“I’ll have the Strawberry Milk.”
“Y-yes? Oh, yes……”

For a brief moment, when he chose her Strawberry Milk, a flicker of disappointment crossed A Gang’s eyes.

“Ah, is that your favorite?”
“No! I actually prefer the Pine Leaf one!”
“Just kidding. I’ll have that instead.”

Tae Heon chuckled and pressed the Strawberry Milk into A Gang’s hands.
As she continued to hesitate, Tae Heon asked her.

“What is it? You have something to say?”
“Oh, well……”
“Hmm?”
“…… You seemed a bit off today, senior?”

A Gang fumbled with the Strawberry Milk before carefully broaching the subject.

“Off how?”
“Your expression didn’t look great from earlier on……”

Many seniors enjoyed standing in front of cameras, but Tae Heon clearly wasn’t one of them.

What an ordeal the whole day must have been for him.

“It’s nothing. That’s just how it goes.”
“I hope Tawan’s surgery goes smoothly and safely.”

A Gang turned to leave, then paused—as if having made a decision, she slowly opened her mouth again.

“Senior, would it… be okay if I observed the surgery?”
“What?”
“I could watch it later on video, but I’d really like to see it in person.”

A Gang bit at her lower lip as she waited for his answer.

A brief silence stretched out.

He’ll turn me down flat again, surely.
She hadn’t held high hopes, but still……

Just as she was about to give up and turn away—

“Observe? Is that enough?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Be my First Assistant. My First.”

A Gang’s heart sank into the depths of her chest.

It was so unbelievable that she had to ask again.

“Me? I’m to be your First Assistant?”
“Why. You don’t want to?”

Tae Heon raised one eyebrow slightly as he asked.

A Gang swallowed hard, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Yes! I’d absolutely love to!”

***

1 a.m.

Tae Heon glanced briefly at his wristwatch and walked down the On-call Room corridor with steady steps.

Both his hands were laden with bags of fruit purchased from the Main Building Basement Convenience Store.

It had been a long, long day.

From dawn to the next dawn.
The 24 hours seemed to have passed in a daze.

Finally, the film crew had withdrawn, and he could catch his breath.

Standing in front of a camera—what was the big deal about it?
He’d tried to brush it off as nothing, but it wasn’t that simple.

Cameras large and small had been positioned along every corridor he walked, forcing him to deliver every word according to a pre-written script.

He’d found himself frowning at the artificial, unnatural situation more than once.
There had been moments when, with a sigh, he’d wanted to turn on his heel and leave right then and there……
But he’d endured it.

The thought that A Gang would have had to bear this awkward situation entirely on her own made him feel it was worth it after all.

Tae Heon’s pace quickened toward the On-call Room.

The moment he turned the corner—

He spotted Shim Woo Seop leaning against the corridor wall in front of the Shower Room.

Even at this hour, his face was composed without a hint of dishevelment. Tae Heon was suddenly self-conscious about the stubble that had come in rough over the day, and he absently rubbed his chin.

“Good evening, sir.”

The voice Woo Seop directed at him as he approached was blunt.
It was the tone of someone reluctantly greeting a superior.

“Ah, you. What’s up?”
“Yes, I’ve been doing well, thank you.”
“You don’t seem busy, standing around here.”

Tae Heon wanted to ask what business a resident had loitering in front of the Shower Room at this hour, but there was no reason to pry into a resident’s personal life.

“I was waiting for someone.”

As if reading his thoughts, Woo Seop added flatly.

Only then did Tae Heon’s gaze shift to Woo Seop’s hands.
In his grip was unmistakably the Ivory-colored Eco Bag that A Gang often carried.

Tae Heon’s eyebrows shot up sharply.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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