Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 114

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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 114.
“D-Director!”
Kim Do-yoon rushed forward and grabbed Han Myeong-jae’s sleeve. The moment Han Myeong-jae appeared, Kim Do-yoon began to tear up, as if a savior had come to rescue him.
“What do I do.”
But Han Myeong-jae coldly brushed Kim Do-yoon’s hand away. He was merciless to those who had become useless.
Kim Do-yoon’s left hand, knocked aside, froze in mid-air. He stood there in an awkward, uncertain posture, unable to move either way. Only his right hand hung limply at his side, rendered powerless by the Botox.
Han Myeong-jae’s changed demeanor shocked Kim Do-yoon as if the world itself had collapsed.
“D-Director? It’s me. It’s Kim Do-yoon.”
The Han Myeong-jae who had always listened warmly to his worries now treated him like a complete stranger.
“You ought to take responsibility for what you did. What are you asking me to do about it?”
“What do you mean, what I did? Did I do this alone? You clearly said—”
“I did?”
Han Myeong-jae cut him off mid-sentence, his face full of incredulous dismissal.
“I merely answered your tiresome questions sincerely. If I’d known you were going to commit fraud, I wouldn’t have helped.”
At Han Myeong-jae’s words, Kim Do-yoon’s lips trembled uncontrollably. He couldn’t say anything.
‘What, what is this. He’s abandoning me like this?’
Kim Do-yoon, who had believed himself special to Han Myeong-jae, was seized by the terror of being alone. Added to that was the dread that all responsibility would fall on him alone.
They had clearly prepared together, but the moment things fell apart, Han Myeong-jae seemed to have fled, distancing himself far away.
Kim Do-yoon bit down on his lower lip. Watching Han Myeong-jae spare no advice and actively help him, he felt foolish for trusting him as though he were a real father.
‘I thought I’d met such a good adult. How stupid I was.’
To Kim Do-yoon, the time he’d spent with Han Myeong-jae now felt like a dream.
“I’m worried whether I can keep painting. I think this might be the end for me.”
“That’s not true. You have enough skill. You just never had the chance to become famous. If there’s an issue, people will pay attention.”
At the time, Kim Do-yoon had thought of his role model—a left-handed painter. That painter had become famous right after an accident, and paintings he’d created earlier were later sold for hundreds of millions of won.
The Director had also said it was a good idea, and continued to help him afterward.
“Hmm, there might be a way. I know a dermatologist well—go see them. I’ll mention you.”
“Really? Thank you so much! Truly, thank you!”
“Ha ha, I do it because you remind me of a son. Don’t worry about it. It’s nice to see someone working hard.”
Those words—like a son—had stolen his heart completely. Kim Do-yoon, who had no parents, thought he’d finally found an adult to rely on. It was too good to be true, and yet he’d believed it.
‘I should have figured it out sooner. Now that I think about it, even the hospital was strange!’
At the dermatology clinic he went to, they injected Botox into the back of his hand.
Unlike the Director, the doctor was quite unfriendly, and only later mentioned it would take over six months to regain full mobility—but Kim Do-yoon had chalked that up to not asking properly himself.
He’d already come this far; there was no point in backing out now.
“Tell me clearly. What exactly did I do?”
Han Myeong-jae looked down on Kim Do-yoon, who was trembling with betrayal.
Only now did Kim Do-yoon realize he’d handed his leash over to Han Myeong-jae. If Han Myeong-jae merely claimed he’d only given advice and the decision was entirely Kim Do-yoon’s, there was nothing he could say. There was no evidence.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Kim Do-yoon swallowed his sobs, tears streaming down his face.
All that was left to him was his ruined right hand.
If word of this got out, he might be expelled from the Eunseong Foundation. He wouldn’t be able to paint for quite some time.
Betrayal, fear, terror—mixed emotions fell with his tears.
When Kim Do-yoon said nothing, Han Myeong-jae let out a scoff.
“Good thing I came to check.”
Having witnessed Kim Do-yoon’s despair, Han Myeong-jae maintained an air of indifference, as if to say there was nothing the boy could do. He had been thorough enough to leave no evidence, and his confidence reflected it.
‘In the end, he’s ruined everything. Weak ones crumble on their own. Time wasted.’
Han Myeong-jae clicked his tongue.
“Tsk.”
He turned his gaze away from the cowering, whimpering Kim Do-yoon. As if he wasn’t even worth looking at anymore.
Han Myeong-jae regretted the effort he’d invested in Kim Do-yoon. The boy talked too much and had been such a nuisance.
But to bungle the whole operation right in front of him like this.
Good thing he’d come to the Emergency Room. Otherwise, he might not have stopped Kim Do-yoon from spouting nonsense.
‘No, no. There’s no evidence anyway. Who would believe the ramblings of a patient caught committing fraud? Sigh, I’m getting old.’
Han Myeong-jae shook his head sharply to dispel the thought that had just crossed his mind.
He had rushed to find Kim Do-yoon after hearing that Director Choi Beom-jun had visited the Emergency Room.
Han Myeong-jae, who had always received updates from behind the scenes,
found himself standing in the middle of the Emergency Room for the first time, and it felt strange.
How had he ended up here?
The Director slowly shook his head and turned away from Kim Do-yoon.
But then, from behind him, Kim Do-yoon spoke with the sharpness of a blade.
“You introduced me to that dermatology clinic. The hospital that gave me the Botox. You said you knew them well, didn’t you?”
Kim Do-yoon, who had nothing left to lose, spoke with piercing eyes.
The Emergency Room staff around them were shocked at his words, but somehow Han Myeong-jae remained unruffled.
“A dermatology clinic? I know nothing of it.”
He feigned complete ignorance. Contempt gleamed beneath his shameless smile.
* * *
Beom-jun received a call from Jae-gyeong.
He had found the dermatology clinic that Kim Do-yoon had visited.
Doctors can see records of treatments prescribed through insurance, but Kim Do-yoon had paid entirely out of pocket without using insurance. Even then, he’d paid in cash to leave no trace.
The trail had gone cold, but it seemed Jae-gyeong had managed to track it down using only the name of the hospital Kim Do-yoon had mentioned.
That kid was uncannily resourceful. He’d volunteered readily to investigate, and sure enough, he’d called back within days.
‘It’s not something I can explain over the phone, so I’ll come in person. Is tomorrow convenient?’
He’d said it wasn’t the kind of conversation for a phone call and insisted on coming to the Director’s Office.
With the appointed time approaching, Beom-jun paced back and forth inside the Director’s Office. He couldn’t sit still and moved restlessly.
There was one thing bothering Beom-jun.
‘That’s strange. No quest appeared. At this point, a Hidden Quest should have shown up.’
Beom-jun tilted his head. Not long ago, he’d cleared a Main Quest to secure a witness.
So shouldn’t the next one be to find evidence? But the Main Quest had been to register one of Han Myeong-jae’s close associates as personnel.
Beom-jun squinted. The status window remained silent.
Perhaps there simply wasn’t any evidence. Han Myeong-jae might have already covered his tracks.
But quests ultimately point Beom-jun toward a way to survive. They wouldn’t ask him to do something impossible.
Just then, the knock he’d been waiting for came.
—Knock, knock.
Beom-jun opened the door from inside and greeted Jae-gyeong.
He asked immediately, unable to wait any longer.
“Did you find the dermatology clinic? Where is it?”
“Ah, well…”
But Jae-gyeong’s tone didn’t sound like good news. Perhaps that’s why it had been difficult to discuss over the phone.
Beom-jun pressed Jae-gyeong, who was hemming and hawing.
“What is it? Tell me.”
“I found the hospital, but it shut down yesterday. The last patient they saw was Kim Do-yoon. I’m still looking into what kind of relationship he had with Director Han.”
At Jae-gyeong’s words, Beom-jun’s brows furrowed deeply.
“I even tracked down the Hospital Director’s residence, but he wasn’t there. There’s a possibility he’s fled overseas. I’ll keep investigating.”
Jae-gyeong spoke carefully, watching Beom-jun’s reaction.
Jae-gyeong’s legwork hadn’t been entirely fruitless. The fact that the hospital had shut down right after Kim Do-yoon’s visit was clearly suspicious. And on top of that, the director had fled overseas.
‘I knew it. No quest appeared.’
Beom-jun suppressed his irritation and slumped back into the black leather chair.
So Han Myeong-jae had already spirited away the dermatologist who’d injected Kim Do-yoon with Botox.
‘Could he have anticipated that Kim Do-yoon would confess?’
Beom-jun mulled it over, but that couldn’t be right. Han Myeong-jae couldn’t have foreseen that Beom-jun would use a control skill.
Han Myeong-jae had already made all his preparations and set his plan in motion, accounting even for the worst-case scenario. Beom-jun was forced to marvel at Han Myeong-jae’s meticulous planning.
He was ruthlessly thorough, and the dermatologist had lost his livelihood overnight. Even if they’d reached some sort of agreement, was this really justified?
Watching someone discarded the moment they’d served their purpose, Beom-jun sighed. It seemed that for Han Myeong-jae, no one was meant to be a long-term ally.
Judging by how he’d treated the Vice Director—someone with top-tier abilities—so carelessly, this was simply how Han Myeong-jae handled people.
“No need to investigate further. It looks like Han Myeong-jae’s already taken care of it.”
Beom-jun shook his head as he spoke. At that, Jae-gyeong sighed.
“Sigh, without that, there’s no other evidence. What should we do, Director?”
He clicked his tongue regretfully. Jae-gyeong, who had run around gathering information, was even more frustrated by the lack of results than by his own efforts.
“It doesn’t matter. Evidence doesn’t always have to be tangible.”
Beom-jun spoke calmly to the disappointed Jae-gyeong. It would have been better to have evidence, but its absence wasn’t a catastrophe.
Above all, thanks to Jae-gyeong, he’d learned a great deal about the suspicious circumstances.
Beom-jun had regained his composure.
He picked up the teacup sitting on his desk. The tea had long gone cold, and a bitter taste lingered on his tongue—an old, stale flavor.
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
Jae-gyeong didn’t understand and asked for clarification.
“Circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence is evidence in itself.”
Watching Jae-gyeong’s eyes light up, Beom-jun smiled slightly.
“That’s right! It’s suspicious no matter how you look at it!”
Sometimes there’s smoke without fire, but there’s always smoke where there’s fire.
Beom-jun poured the water from his teacup. He emptied the cup first before refilling it.

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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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