Emergency Instinct - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Mother! Are you really going to let her go like this? We need to hold onto her somehow!”

Hong Chul-ho watched the departing ambulance, not knowing what to do.

“Chul-ho, didn’t I tell you to just do as I say? Don’t worry, go out and make sure the hospital staff keep their mouths shut.”

Park Soon-ja looked coldly at her restless son.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I need to bring her back.”

Thinking of Ji-an who had dared to look her straight in the eye and act so rudely in front of her, Park Soon-ja gritted her teeth.

She had been too lenient until now. She just needed to break her so she couldn’t struggle anymore.

Park Soon-ja took out her phone and dialed the number of an errand service she often used.

A moment later.

“I need to quietly put someone on her tail.”

Park Soon-ja’s lips twisted into a sinister smile.

Just wait. I’ll make sure you crawl back on your own and beg.

***

A week passed, and Christmas was just around the corner.

With drinking accidents from various gatherings and even gastroenteritis from the flu epidemic, Hanyeong Hospital’s emergency room had recently seen a surge in patients.

However, Ji-an was in better condition than ever.

She had found peace of mind, and switching from night to day shifts made her less tired.

After work, she would go straight to the adjacent Han-young Nursing Home to visit Mother.

Of course, there were many emergency calls that required her to rush over frequently, but it was still nice to be able to see Mother whenever she wanted.

If there was one thing that bothered her a little, it was that the man she had spent the night with would suddenly come to mind. But isn’t time the best medicine?

She could shake off such aftereffects quickly. Once she entered the emergency room, there would be plenty of work to keep her busy today too.

Ji-an shook her head to clear her mind and hurried to work.

The first patient waiting for her from the morning was a man in his thirties.

He had no particular underlying conditions, but had high fever and chills similar to the flu, and complained of abdominal pain.

At first glance, it seemed similar to flu symptoms accompanied by the gastroenteritis that was going around. But seeing him break out in cold sweats and suffer in pain, it didn’t look like ordinary abdominal pain.

“Patient, your abdominal pain seems severe. When did it start hurting?”

Ji-an asked while examining the patient.

“It’s been three or four days. I can’t digest anything and my stomach hurts like it’s being stabbed, so I have no appetite. My stomach keeps churning and I feel like throwing up.”

Stabbing abdominal pain. Nausea and vomiting symptoms. High fever and chills.

As Ji-an quickly took notes, the patient spoke again.

“Last night it hurt so much that medicine didn’t help. Ugh, I think it’s gastroenteritis, so please give me an IV with some medicine mixed in. I get gastroenteritis often, and it gets better quickly with an IV.”

Ji-an swallowed a sigh at the patient’s dangerous self-diagnosis and calmly asked.

“What kind of medicine did you take?”

“Digestive medicine and painkillers. I’ve been taking them for days but they’re not working, so I came to get an injection.”

“Yes. Let me take a look first.”

When she placed the stethoscope, she heard disturbing sounds from the intestinal area.

Ji-an quickly palpated and pressed around the man’s navel.

“Does it hurt?”

“Ah, a little.”

“How about here?”

The moment Ji-an moved position and carefully pressed down on the right lower abdomen.

“Ah, it hurts!”

The patient immediately reacted, crying out with a contorted face.

Seeing the patient’s face covered in cold sweat, Ji-an’s eyes grew serious.

“How do you feel now?”

She slowly released her pressing hand and asked again.

“Ahhh! It hurts! Doctor! Stop!”

The moment she pressed and released the right lower abdomen, the patient complained of extreme pain and trembled violently.

Rebound tenderness, feeling greater pain when the hand is released, was the most typical symptom of appendicitis.

Having been neglected for several days, there was a high possibility that emergency surgery would be needed immediately. If delayed, it could develop into peritonitis due to perforation.

“Patient, when did you last eat?”

“I only drank water. It’s better not to eat when you have gastroenteritis.”

Fortunately, he was in a fasting state so surgery could proceed immediately.

Judging it an emergency situation, Ji-an quickly gave orders to the nurse.

“Emergency blood test, and check with the lab if CT is immediately available. Make an emergency call to the GS doctor.”

“Why do I need a CT for gastroenteritis?”

The patient who had been listening cried out in surprise. He seemed to absolutely believe he had gastroenteritis.

“Patient, this isn’t gastroenteritis.”

Ji-an spoke firmly, then calmly explained the possibility of appendicitis.

The patient looked flustered but fortunately didn’t oppose further testing.

The results confirmed appendicitis as suspected, and the patient transferred to GS was immediately moved to the operating room due to high inflammation levels.

Without a moment to breathe, Ji-an then sutured the wound of a patient who had cut their hand with a knife, and prescribed IV fluids and fever reducers for a young girl with high fever.

It was just when she had sent the girl patient whose fever wouldn’t break to PED.

“Busy since morning?”

Kyung-seok, who was on night duty, suddenly appeared in the emergency room.

“Why are you out so early?”

“I slept in the on-call room. Time for lunch, right? Let’s go out together.”

“No. I’m still fine.”

“Dr. Kim? I’ll go eat with Ji-an and come back. Call if it’s urgent.”

“Does Dr. Kyung-seok only see Hong Ji-an? I’m hungry too.”

At Kyung-seok’s words, Kim Min-su, a 4th-year chief resident who was coming back from seeing a patient, grumbled.

“I’ll watch the ER. You two go first.”

Ji-an stepped forward, feeling awkward.

However, Kyung-seok paid no attention and insisted on dragging Ji-an to the basement cafeteria.

Ever since learning about Mother’s situation, Kyung-seok had been noticeably taking care of Ji-an.

He doesn’t need to worry this much…

Feeling grateful yet burdened, Ji-an sat down with him after putting food on their trays.

As they ate quickly to get back to work, they could hear the conversation of residents sitting right behind them.

“So, is it true that the new hospital director coming is really the chairman’s son?”

“Yes. He apparently came back from America recently. I don’t know what sudden wind brought this on.”

“All the professors must be in emergency mode. The research funding results for next year are coming out soon. At this rate, won’t all departments without results get cut?”

“You’re right. He hasn’t even had his inauguration ceremony yet, but the new director coming today summoned everyone. The CS Manager even postponed surgery.”

“No wonder the lobby was unusually sparkling today.”

The biggest topic of interest in the hospital recently was the chairman’s son coming as director.

Ji-an wasn’t particularly interested, so she let it go in one ear and quickly finished her meal.

“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion like that.”

“I need to quickly switch with Senior Min-su.”

“You really. I called you out to rest a bit.”

“Um, I’m done eating, can I get up first?”

“Fine. I’m done too. Let’s go.”

When Ji-an got up first, Kyung-seok shook his head and followed.

“We haven’t been here long, let’s buy coffee and go.”

“Then, I’ll buy the coffee.”

Feeling sorry for always receiving, Ji-an quickly spoke up, and Kyung-seok chuckled and nodded.

They cleared their trays, left the cafeteria, and took the escalator to the 1st floor lobby.

As they walked side by side, they suddenly heard murmuring from the hospital lobby.

“What’s going on that everyone’s out here? Even the hospital director is there?”

Kyung-seok stopped walking first and turned his gaze. Ji-an, who was standing beside him, also casually lifted her head.

At that moment, she saw a handsome man standing tall in her field of vision, revealing an unusually strong presence.

Why is that man here?

Ji-an, who had widened her eyes and gasped in surprise, froze in place.

Unbelievably, the man now shaking hands with the hospital director was the same person she had spent a night with not long ago.

As if familiar with such situations, he was leisurely exchanging greetings even under countless gazes.

‘Seo Tae-jun. My name.’

The name she had tried so hard to erase quickly came to mind.

She naturally remembered that the chairman of Hanyeong Group was also surnamed Seo.

No way, it can’t be. That’s impossible. It shouldn’t be.

As she shook her head roughly, Kyung-seok spoke as if delivering the final blow.

“Seeing that even the hospital director came out, that man must be the new chairman of the board.”

Her breath caught and she couldn’t move at all.

Her solar plexus tightened and her heart began to beat rapidly, when suddenly that man, Tae-jun, lifted his head.

The moment his jet-black eyes locked precisely onto Ji-an’s two eyes.

Thump, her heart sank.

Ji-an, feeling dizzy, belatedly averted her gaze and hid her body behind Kyung-seok.

“Senior, I’m sorry, but let’s have coffee another time.”

Ji-an, who barely managed to mumble, ran in the opposite direction as if she had received an emergency call. With a face pale as a sheet.

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