Illusion Blind Date - Chapter 7

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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 7

“Oh, we have a guest.”
Tae Moon’s cool gaze fixed on the Hospital Director.
Tae Moon exuded such an oppressive presence that even the Hospital Director—a man with a physique robust enough to intimidate most doctors—seemed to narrow at the shoulders. He bowed respectfully.
“Good to see you, Director. I’m Tae Moon.”
“Ha ha, what a striking appearance. Welcome back.”
When the Hospital Director extended his hand for a handshake, Tae Moon grasped it firmly with his large palm.
“I look forward to working with you. I submitted my paperwork to Personnel this afternoon and will begin my duties on April first.”
“Ha ha ha, all the better for us then. We’re counting on you.”
Eun Gyeong watched the two men converse with quiet approval.
“Please, take your time. I’ll be on my way.”
The Hospital Director nodded at the doctor making his exit now that he’d made his mark, and Eun Gyeong bowed to him.
“Take care.”
The Hospital Director left the Director’s Office.

Tae Moon then caught sight of his mother gazing up at him quietly, and he pulled her into his arms with both hands. Her small frame fit snugly against his chest.
“Mother, you’ve lost weight. You’re breaking your son’s heart.”
“Lost weight? That’s the highest compliment.”
“What kind of compliment is that? Mother, really. Let me get a proper look at your face.”
Tae Moon gently released her from his embrace and examined Eun Gyeong’s face carefully with his sharp eyes.
At his scrutiny, Eun Gyeong smiled quietly.
“Let’s sit down.”
“Yes, but please don’t go dieting to lose weight. You know health is what matters most, don’t you?”
“I’m still an Internal Medicine doctor, regardless.”
“As if doctors never get sick.”
Tae Moon collapsed onto the sofa with a small smile tugging at his lips.
Eun Gyeong’s face, watching him, was filled with joy.
It was the first time she’d seen him since he returned from the United States.
“Are you still staying at the hotel?”
After arriving in Korea, Tae Moon had settled into a hotel.
His cousin Ji Moon was currently living in the house where he used to stay, sharing it with classmates.
He’d contacted Ji Moon in advance and was planning to move into the house within a day or two.
“I’ll have to move out soon.”
“Didn’t Ji Moon say he’s living there with his classmates?”
“That’s what I hear. I’ll have to give him time to find other arrangements.”
“Why don’t you consider staying at the Family Home instead? Or maybe it’s time to meet a nice woman and settle down.”
“You start nagging the moment you see me.”
Tae Moon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Eun Gyeong.
“I’ve had several decent matchmaking opportunities come up. Won’t you meet someone before work starts? What do you say?”
He understood her desire to see him establish a home and find stability at his age, but there was no helping that it sounded like nagging to him.
“Mother.”
“Fine, I’ll stop.”
Eun Gyeong raised her hand first.
Tae Moon gazed at her with a gentle smile.
He understood. The comfortable life he’d led all these years was entirely thanks to his parents.
All he’d had to do was strive for excellence while surrounded by those who supported him.
His goal was to become a doctor who handled patients’ lives, so he’d done his utmost to become a surgeon who was both ruthlessly competent and highly skilled.
Within the equal span of time given to everyone, Tae Moon had pressed forward relentlessly, determined to master and learn one thing more, one moment faster.
He’d come this far driven solely by the resolve to become the finest surgeon.
During his residency and specialty training, he’d prepared for the USMLE bit by bit and obtained his license.
After completing two years of Fellowship in the United States and returning, marriage was something for later.
Right now, saving people’s lives with his honed surgical skills was the priority.
Especially since there would be much work waiting for him at YJ University Hospital, where General Surgery was understaffed.
But at that moment, as he watched his mother bring up matchmaking the instant they met, a certain woman suddenly came to mind.

“Truth is, I won’t even have time to use the bathroom. How am I supposed to meet someone and get married? You understand, don’t you?”

How sick of it all must she have been to fire off words like machine-gun rounds without even a proper introduction.
He understood her feelings well enough.
Han Bom.
By now she’d be somewhere in the hospital, running herself ragged.
The image of her in bold makeup and daring clothes remained fixed in Tae Moon’s memory like that of a warrior woman.
“Are you going to let your mother lose face and just smile?”
Eun Gyeong narrowed her sharp eyes and gave Tae Moon a sideways look.
“No, Mother. Why would I? You’re my one and only mother.”
“You certainly know how to talk.”
Eun Gyeong swallowed whatever else she’d been about to say.
She wasn’t blind to what her son meant when he spoke softly like that — a quiet warning not to cross the line.
He’d been a strange child from the start.
At best, you could call him outgoing and strong-willed with firm convictions; at worst, he was just stubborn and difficult.
No wonder her mother-in-law had always said this one needed a firm hand.
Her sisters-in-law would say how lucky she was to have such a smooth, affectionate son, but they didn’t know the half of it.
Even now, though they were close enough to embrace without restraint, he had a cold streak — the moment she overstepped, he’d cut her off completely.
It rarely happened in the course of living, but when her big, gangster-sized son would crease his expression into something savage, even she’d feel her heart go cold.
Still, compared to the anguish she’d felt worrying he might settle permanently in the United States, all of this was nothing.
He’d figure out romance and marriage on his own.
So she wanted to stop her needless worrying and go home to spend time with her husband catching up on all the stories they’d missed.
“Father will be waiting. Shall we get going now?”
“Yes, Mother.”
Buzz, buzz.
Just as he was about to stand, Tae Moon’s phone rang.
He answered.
“Yeah, Hae Il.”
It seemed to be a call from a friend.
Eun Gyeong rose from her seat, slipped on her jacket, and prepared to leave.
“Right, I understand. I’m coming down.”
Tae Moon hung up and looked at Eun Gyeong.
“Mother, what should I do? I think I need to go down to the Emergency Room right now.”
“Hae Il? He knows you’re back in Korea?”
“Yes. A group of Traffic Accident patients just came in. The Pediatric Surgery doctor can’t make it, so it looks like I’ll need to scrub in for surgery. It’s a five-year-old boy.”
“But you haven’t even started your position yet……”
“You can handle the paperwork, Mother. We have to save the child first. He’s a five-year-old boy.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Her son, indifferent yet tender, cold yet warm, smiled with crescent-shaped eyes.
Eun Gyeong turned back to her desk and picked up the intercom.
“I’m trusting only you, Mother. I’m going down now.”
“Yes. You’re heading to the Emergency Room?”
“Yes.”
With the receiver in hand, Eun Gyeong watched her son leave the Director’s Office with quick strides.
Every time she saw him, she couldn’t quite believe she’d given birth to such a son, and she let out a deep sigh.

***

A single call to the Surgery Department sent everyone abandoning their pizza mid-bite, sprinting like mad toward the Emergency Room.
Stretchers bearing patients kept rolling through the Emergency Room doors one after another.
In the chaos of the Emergency Room, surgeons from Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery, and Orthopedic Surgery all came pouring down to converge on the patients.
Ji Moon wiped his trembling face with shaking hands and began checking the patient charts.
Five years old, male. Abdominal Wall Rupture and Hernia.
The child had been brought in with his parents. Both had sustained severe injuries and needed surgery immediately.
Bang Su Ho, his white coat splattered with blood, approached.
“The bleeding’s too severe. We need to get him to the Operating Room now.”
In traffic accidents, it was common for intestines to rupture because of seatbelts, and this child was one such case.
“Right, yes.”
The Emergency Medicine team was barely managing to stabilize his Vital Signs.
But who was supposed to perform the surgery?
As Tae Moon was glancing around the Emergency Room, Han Bom came rushing over.
“Ji Moon, I’ve arranged the anesthesia department. You’ll go to OR 1 in the G Rosette wing.”
“Got it.”
“Han Bom! Did you secure an OR?”
Park Jae Hong shouted.
“Yes, OR 3 in the G Rosette.”
After responding, Han Bom left to attend to another Traffic Accident patient, and Park Jae Hong approached Ji Moon’s side.
“Get the patient up here. And Ji Moon, the new attending will be performing the surgery, so keep that in mind and head to the OR to start prepping.”
“Yes. But a new attending? Coming when?”

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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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