Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 101

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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 101.
Beom-jun stepped out of Kim Do-yoon’s hospital room and walked briskly down the corridor.
“Is something the matter?”
Im Sung-hyuk noticed his expression had darkened since leaving the room and grew concerned.
“Keep it quiet that I came here today. And don’t say anything more about the patient Kim Do-yoon.”
Beom-jun silenced him first. Once he returned to the thoracic surgery office, they would surely ask where he’d been.
With nothing certain yet, word spreading would do no good.
Since he hadn’t crossed paths with any staff on the way, it would be fine as long as Sung-hyuk kept quiet. The head nurse of Ward 77 was also one of Beom-jun’s people.
“Keep a close eye on patient Kim Do-yoon. If a referral comes through to thoracic surgery, let me know right away.”
“Yes, understood.”
Sung-hyuk answered without pressing further, simply acknowledging Beom-jun’s words.
Something felt wrong. He needed to understand what this uneasy feeling was before Kim Do-yoon became Sung-hyuk’s patient.
The different reaction from Doctor X, from what he’d seen in the original,
and the quest to secure a witness—both had triggered yellow warning lights in Beom-jun’s mind. Caution.
Beom-jun’s pace quickened. He’d hoped this quest would go smoothly, but of course it wouldn’t.
After sending Sung-hyuk back to the office, he called Jae-kyung.
That connection at Korea University Hospital might know something about patient Kim Do-yoon.
Ring, ring, ring.
Jae-kyung answered before the signal could ring twice.
“Director! I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
He was delighted to hear from Beom-jun after so long.
“Forgotten? Didn’t we talk around last week?”
“Exactly two weeks and two days!”
‘So he’s been counting the days.’
Jae-kyung, transferred from the Secretary’s Office to the Planning Office, counted down each day until his return.
The Planning Office had undergone restructuring under Chairman Han Myeong-jae and become a direct agency of the board, and he said the chairman subtly harassed him and applied pressure on the work. The chairman must have known Jae-kyung was Beom-jun’s man.
Beom-jun had no intention of keeping Jae-kyung in the Planning Office long either. But first, he needed to learn what he could from Director Min Jung-sik.
Still, the intelligence Jae-kyung occasionally brought back about the chairman’s movements had been quite helpful.
“How are things with the chairman lately? Any unusual moves?”
“It’s been hard to see the Vice-Director recently. It looks like the Vice-Director’s contact with the Chairman has decreased, so I’ve been keeping an eye on things.”
Jae-kyung relayed unexpected information in response to Beom-jun’s question. If it was recent, it would be after Beom-jun had removed the Vice-Director’s hostility toward him.
Beom-jun nodded.
‘Now they have nothing binding them together.’
The chairman and vice-director, now that their common enemy Beom-jun had disappeared, would have loosened their alliance. Vice-Director Gu Hui-jeong was a rational person, after all.
Even if she couldn’t openly challenge the chairman, she no longer needed to spend much time with him just to flatter him emotionally.
But that wasn’t what Beom-jun was curious about.
“Anything else besides that?”
“Well… people from Eunseong do visit frequently these days. I think it’ll keep happening during the dispatch period. It looks like the Chairman is in frequent contact with Director Kim Mu-hyung.”
Beom-jun’s words made Jae-kyung furrow his brow and close his eyes. Unsure what Beom-jun wanted to hear, he went for quantity over quality, offering as much information as possible.
Beom-jun organized his thoughts based on what Jae-kyung had said.
‘Director Kim Mu-hyung is the one who planned the dispatch to Eunseong Hospital. In Doctor X, he was also in league with the chairman.’
This time Beom-jun had joined hands with Eun Tae-kyung, but in the original story, Korea University Hospital and Eunseong Hospital exchanged through Han Myeong-jae and Kim Mu-hyung.
Kim Mu-hyung, stripped of his role, appeared to be clinging to Han Myeong-jae.
Kim Mu-hyung had appeared back when Cha Woo-jin was registered as a talented prospect. He was an exceptionally ruthless figure in Cha Woo-jin’s memory. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that during his ten years at Eunseong Hospital, he was exploited by Kim Mu-hyung.
“Oh! That’s right!”
Just then, Jae-kyung raised his voice as if he’d remembered something.
“Last week there was a meeting with the Eunseong Foundation. A painter came and said he’d be admitted to Korea University Hospital?”
At Jae-kyung’s words, Beom-jun’s eyes lit up.
‘That’s it.’
A painter sponsored by the Eunseong Foundation,
with treatment scheduled for last week,
could only be Kim Do-yoon.
“Right. That person.”
“The painter must have come with him. Along with a Foundation employee.”
Beom-jun’s voice lowered. So it was true—the chairman had made contact with the patient. An orphan whose entire future depended on this treatment.
“Nothing about the treatment itself? Did they mention the painter’s work at all?”
“Well, the details aren’t clear, but they probably did. The painter’s portfolio was received. It should be in the Chairman’s Office right now.”
Even though Beom-jun still didn’t know what Han Myeong-jae would demand of Kim Do-yoon, a curse sprang to his lips first.
The quest was to secure a witness. It was preparation for a fake medical accident. In other words, Han Myeong-jae was going to orchestrate a fraud scheme.
How the chairman had manipulated Kim Do-yoon was obvious.
‘Crazy bastard. He must have made it sound like he’d buy the paintings.’
Given Korea University Hospital’s scale, if they completely replaced all the artwork, there would be over three hundred pieces. At this point, Kim Do-yoon would be struggling financially, so refusing wouldn’t be easy.
But to bring this up right before treatment at Korea University Hospital—
Beom-jun felt blood rushing backward. Han Myeong-jae was exploiting the patient’s difficult circumstances.
He must have once been a director, a professor, a doctor. But it seemed Han Myeong-jae had no trace of basic conscience left.
“Jae-kyung, you need to find out what the chairman wants from that patient. There’s not much time.”
Beom-jun spoke through gritted teeth to Jae-kyung.
“Look into Chairman Han Myeong-jae and patient Kim Do-yoon. Figure out what passed between them. It would be better to approach Kim Do-yoon directly. The chairman will be guarded.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jae-kyung answered. Sensing the gravity of the situation, he wiped away any trace of playfulness.
“And from now on, I’ll be the one overseeing patient Kim Do-yoon.”
If Kim Do-yoon had been drawn into Han Myeong-jae’s scheme, the one who would take the direct hit was the attending physician.
When a doctor treats a patient, building rapport is where it begins. Creating a therapeutic relationship.
It happens sometimes. Cases where rapport won’t form no matter what—doctors are human too, and they don’t click with everyone. In severe cases, the attending physician can be changed, but that won’t be possible for patient Kim Do-yoon.
Sung-hyuk is the only thoracic surgeon at Korea University Hospital.
“You’re saying you’ll take on patient Kim Do-yoon as the attending physician, Director?”
“That’s right.”
“Is… is that even allowed?”
Beom-jun had trained in the same specialty and had a track record of operating on a North Korean patient, so it wasn’t impossible.
There would be an uproar about the director seeing patients, but he didn’t care. For now, Beom-jun’s priority was to protect Sung-hyuk.
Sung-hyuk hadn’t had exceptional chemistry with patients in Doctor X, but he hadn’t been terrible either.
‘Treating a patient who doesn’t trust you isn’t easy.’
You have to remain mechanical despite the patient’s doubts and anxiety, and that wouldn’t be easy for Sung-hyuk.
‘I’ll handle it myself.’
Beom-jun communicated to Jae-kyung what he would do next.
“A transfer referral to thoracic surgery will come soon. Just wait for it.”
“Yes, sir. As soon as you give the word, I’ll take care of it.”
Jae-kyung answered without unnecessary additions.
* * *
Do-yoon quietly left his hospital room.
Anyone could suddenly enter the room—a nurse or a doctor. It wasn’t a space where Do-yoon could spend time privately.
As he wandered through Ward 77, he noticed the Simple Testing Room had its lights off.
They said that when VIP patients didn’t want detailed testing, they did an abbreviated version.
The testing room was dark. The staff had probably left around six.
Do-yoon touched the door handle lightly.
‘It’s not locked!’
Creak.
Do-yoon quietly opened the door and slipped inside, dragging the long IV pole behind him.
He turned on his phone in a corner of the testing room. Light flooded his face in the darkness. Do-yoon bit his lip as he scrolled through his contact list.
As he scrolled to the bottom of the alphabetically sorted list, the name he was looking for appeared.
—Chairman Han Myeong-jae, Korea University Hospital
“Hello? This is Kim Do-yoon calling. Is this the Chairman?”
Making his first call, Do-yoon introduced himself. He held the phone with both hands even though no one could see him.
“Ah, Painter Kim. Go ahead.”
“The Hospital Director just visited.”
When the chairman picked up, Do-yoon spoke quietly. Whispering, half air, half sound. His voice was small, but in the solitary testing room, it seemed to echo loudly.
“I can’t hear well. Speak up. What did Director Choi say?”
“Oh! He just came by to say hello, that’s all. He seemed like a nice person?”
At the chairman’s words, Do-yoon raised his voice slightly, but not much.
Han Myeong-jae quickly lost interest in what seemed like a pointless call. He’d thought a call would come, but not so soon after giving the number.
“Don’t judge people by appearances. You need to listen carefully to what they say. Especially you—your entire future is in your hands.”
But Han Myeong-jae feigned understanding, empathizing with his fear better than anyone.
“Still, everyone at Korea University Hospital seems really nice to me.”
“That’s because you’re a research subject. You’re useful as a research subject. Everyone treats people according to their own needs.”
At Han Myeong-jae’s words, Kim Do-yoon swallowed hard.
“Oh, I see. That’s how it is.”
“Of course. You’re just one patient among thousands. If something troubles you, talk to me. I don’t see patients anymore, so I have time.”
“I will! Thank you so much, Chairman!”
When Do-yoon hung up, his voice was better than when he’d first called.
But Han Myeong-jae found breaking him in tiresome.
‘Not quite satisfying. Should’ve had the Vice-Director do it.’
The Vice-Director had been keeping her distance from him lately. He understood that trust mattered the more important the work. Tsk. Han Myeong-jae clicked his tongue.
Han Myeong-jae didn’t reflect on what he’d done himself; he disliked how the Vice-Director’s attitude was inconsistent.
Well, it wouldn’t last long anyway. The Vice-Director would come around again eventually. As long as she continued working at Korea University Hospital, she couldn’t afford to be on bad terms with him.
In any case, Director Choi had already found Kim Do-yoon.
‘Faster than expected.’
Director Choi was moving slightly faster than Han Myeong-jae had anticipated, but this time was no exception.
But that meant he’d taken the bait quickly.
Watching Director Beom-jun find Kim Do-yoon, Han Myeong-jae was certain. Kim Do-yoon would definitely be useful.
Cackle, cackle, cackle.
Han Myeong-jae held his phone and laughed gleefully.

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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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