Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 121

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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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Chapter 121.
“Why is the Uigwonhoe looking for me?”
When Gu Hui-jeong spoke as though the Uigwonhoe had come to arrest Beom-jun, he asked back.
“I don’t know the details myself. They might not be coming to arrest you.”
“If not that?”
“I’m not sure. To recruit you, perhaps?”
The vice director, eyes half-lidded, seemed oddly pleased.
‘This isn’t even my business—what is this?’
Though Beom-jun had been on alert at the mention of the Uigwonhoe, something about Gu Hui-jeong’s demeanor rubbed him the wrong way. Yet she continued speaking with ease.
“From what I understand, the Uigwonhoe has never been the one to seek out doctors first. Even now, there are probably doctors lined up trying to join.”
She seemed fascinated by the mere fact that the Uigwonhoe was taking interest in Beom-jun.
“I don’t think it would be a bad thing. Though that’s just my opinion.”
At her addition, Beom-jun’s eyebrows twitched. The woman who claimed not to know much about it was actually quite knowledgeable about the Uigwonhoe.
Beom-jun remembered the time he’d registered Min Jeong-sik as a talent.
He’d been able to register Min Jeong-sik as a talent precisely because the man wasn’t yet a formal member of the Uigwonhoe.
‘He’s probably still on the waiting list.’
She’d said admission wasn’t far off. Since the new year had come, he’d likely be joining this year.
But as his conversation with Gu Hui-jeong was ongoing, the Status Window appeared.
[Main Quest has not been completed.]
[New Quest generation is being delayed.]
[Please complete the existing Quest.]
The Status Window was urging him to complete the Quest quickly.
[Main Quest: Bring an enemy into your fold.]
Register a close associate of Chairman Han Myeong-jae as a talent.
Reward: Survival Probability +3%
Failure: Death
Just from the Status Window alone, he could tell what the next Quest would be about.
Beom-jun guided Gu Hui-jeong deeper into the Director’s Office.
“Let’s discuss the details while we sit.”
All he needed was to get her to drink the Affection Potion. Gu Hui-jeong’s Affection Level was currently at four, so this time he’d max it out.
* * *
Beom-jun pulled out the Affection Potion onto a low table level with the sofa.
Like last time, it had a tacky heart pattern drawn in the center. The only difference from the intermediate potion was the color. It was a garish green that didn’t look like anything one should drink.
Beom-jun uncorked the bottle. A sweetly fragrant scent wafted from the potion vial.
‘Last time I just brushed it off as liquor, but what do I call this?’
Beom-jun pondered as he poured the Affection Potion into a cup. The murky green liquid splashed down.
“Is this the same liquor you had with Director Min Jeong-sik?”
Gu Hui-jeong tapped the heart pattern in the center of the potion bottle with her finger as she spoke.
She made it sound as if Beom-jun had been present together with Min Jeong-sik at some private meeting.
There was nothing secret about meeting Min Jeong-sik, so he probably hadn’t intentionally mentioned it. The gossip must have leaked in through the rumor mill—”so I heard.”
Given how peculiarly the bottle looked, it wasn’t strange for rumors to circulate.
But the fact that she didn’t know about the different color suggested the information wasn’t entirely accurate. That’s how rumor works. Incomplete, and therefore distorted.
The ability to absorb all the information a person possesses when registering them as a talent was, upon reflection, an absurdly overpowered ability.
“Isn’t it odd to be drinking liquor in a hospital?”
“Liquor? It’s not liquor.”
“Then what is it?”
Here it came. The vice director stared at the cup with suspicious eyes. Ah. He couldn’t very well say he was going to feed her the Affection Potion to make her his talent.
“It looks kind of like milk?”
“Yes, that’s right. Milk.”
When Gu Hui-jeong spoke, Beom-jun immediately played along.
“That… what… uh…”
Beom-jun almost said cucumber-flavored milk, then caught himself. There was no way something like that existed. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn.
“It looks like melon milk.”
“Yes, that’s it. Melon milk.”
As Beom-jun trailed off vaguely, Gu Hui-jeong chimed in knowingly.
‘Phew, that went over well.’
Though Beom-jun was sweating bullets, Gu Hui-jeong, with her strong sense of confidence, didn’t perceive anything amiss.
When he poured all the Affection Potion from the bottle, it filled exactly two mugs. Beom-jun brought the cup to his lips first. Gu Hui-jeong drank the Affection Potion without suspicion.
Gulp, gulp.
After Gu Hui-jeong had taken only two swallows, the Status Window appeared.
[Gu Hui-jeong’s Affection Level has increased by 7.]
[Will you register Gu Hui-jeong as a talent? Yes/No]
Her Affection Level, which had been at four, skyrocketed, and he could now register Gu Hui-jeong as a talent.
After drinking the Affection Potion, Gu Hui-jeong gazed blankly at empty space, then closed her eyes. With her sitting there before him, Beom-jun rolled his eyes and clicked ‘Yes.’
[Gu Hui-jeong has been registered as a talent.]
[Through the registration effect, the talent’s knowledge is being absorbed.]
Soon Beom-jun’s head became heavy. A suffocating pain rushed down, as if something were pressing his brain from above and below.
Beom-jun clenched his teeth, but he couldn’t endure it and a groan escaped.
“Ugh.”
Gu Hui-jeong, who had somehow returned to her normal state, spoke urgently.
“My goodness, Director Choi, are you alright?”
She looked even more ashen than when she’d drunk the Affection Potion.
For her, this must have been the moment she witnessed firsthand the rumors of the director’s health deterioration.
Fearing Beom-jun might collapse, Gu Hui-jeong grabbed his arm.
“…Ack.”
Beom-jun’s upper arm, gripped by Gu Hui-jeong, tingled. She was a world apart from the patients he’d dealt with—her grip strength was formidable.
Yet thanks to her, the pain dispersed somewhat, and his head felt less agony.
The knowledge the vice director possessed was similar to Min Jeong-sik’s, but dense and detailed in proportion to the years she’d accumulated.
Know-how in handling hospital finances and managing people.
The skill of balancing both profit and public service, and
the standard of not losing the hospital’s identity while dealing with external hospitals and corporations—
were all things so inherently vague they could barely be expressed in words, yet Beom-jun grasped them clearly. How to do them.
These were likely the fruits of experience Gu Hui-jeong had accumulated while serving as director of a hospital in America.
“Ah.”
At the new knowledge imprinted in his mind, Beom-jun’s mouth fell open. He exhaled only a single exclamation.
For the first time after absorbing a talent’s knowledge, Beom-jun fell silent. The fact that he’d accumulated her experience through the Status Window in mere seconds didn’t feel real.
It was certainly far more than simple information. It was closer to the life Gu Hui-jeong had built over decades, broken and failing again and again.
‘No wonder the Chairman coveted her. Knowing she couldn’t become hospital director in Korea, there’s no way he’d let her go.’
Beom-jun thought he understood why Han Myeong-jae had brought Gu Hui-jeong to Korea University Hospital even at the cost of breaking her wings. Why he kept her close by, deliberately frustrating her dreams.
Beom-jun drained the remaining Affection Potion. Despite its fragrant scent, a bitter taste seemed to spread across his tongue.
Fortunately, before he could fully register the bitterness, the Status Window appeared.
[Main Quest has been completed.]
[Main Quest: Bring an enemy into your fold]
[Survival Probability has increased by 3%.]
[Current Survival Probability is 80%.]
This was the price he paid for obtaining Gu Hui-jeong.
But then, fireworks exploded. Between the two bursts was a crimson Status Window flashing.
[FEVER!!]
[Gu Hui-jeong’s Affection Level is 10(+1).]
[Gu Hui-jeong has entered FEVER Mode.]
[For one day, all of Gu Hui-jeong’s abilities rise to maximum.]
[For one day, the highest level of Control is applied to Gu Hui-jeong.]
After the Status Window appeared, Gu Hui-jeong’s eyes had rolled back halfway. Like when the workaholic threw herself into hospital work.
[Name: Gu Hui-jeong / Position: Vice Director]
Management Strategy: ■■■■■
Organization Management: ■■■■■
Performance Management: ■■■■■
External Cooperation: ■■■■■
– Affection Level: MAX
– Hostility: Strong
When he opened her talent information, all her abilities were completely filled, just as the Status Window had said.
Domineering leader. Strong desire to be number one. A talented individual who excels autonomously—no one can match her when it comes to work.
The previously grayed-out description of her rearranged itself, the consonants and vowels separating and reforming into new text.
Prepared talent. Considers the survival and growth of Korea University Hospital as the highest priority. Proves all assigned tasks with results.
“If you need anything, just say the word.”
Gu Hui-jeong, now terrifyingly resolute, spoke. She was ready to walk through fire.
To her, Beom-jun asked calmly.
With the highest level of Control now applied, he needed to extract every possible piece of information from the vice director.
“Then, shall we talk about it now?”
Though Beom-jun had barely opened his mouth, Gu Hui-jeong already knew what he was about to say.
“The Uigwonhoe?”
Gu Hui-jeong, fully prepared to speak, fixed him with a penetrating gaze.
“Yes. What is your view of the Uigwonhoe?”
Gu Hui-jeong fell silent for a moment, then exhaled softly. Her round shoulders curled inward, then relaxed.
“The Uigwonhoe was founded on the principle of protecting doctors’ rights for the sake of patients. Now the object is gone, and only the doctors’ rights remain.”
She began speaking of the Uigwonhoe calmly. It seemed closer to disappointment than anger.
Like explaining something long since settled, Gu Hui-jeong’s emotions remained undisturbed.
“At first, I thought that was right too. That if doctors were comfortable, they could treat patients better.”
When Beom-jun first learned of the Uigwonhoe’s existence, he’d thought it reasonable. Doctors would find it even more appealing.
Doctors were regarded as serving their profession, so it was considered natural that they sometimes be sent into harsh situations.
“I’m not a doctor and don’t know all the internal workings, but I’m certain the original purpose of the Uigwonhoe is different from how it operates now.”
At her words, Beom-jun nodded. If the Uigwonhoe were operating according to its original purpose, the Status Window wouldn’t have issued a warning about it.
And at the apex of the Uigwonhoe, there would be Han Myeong-jae.
“The Uigwonhoe itself probably isn’t the problem. The problem is the person using it.”
“That would be Chairman Han Myeong-jae.”
Gu Hui-jeong sighed again. She lifted the now-empty cup, then set it back down.
“The Chairman is an intelligent person. He knows precisely what people want.”
Her voice trembled as she spoke of Han Myeong-jae.
She spoke of the Uigwonhoe fluently, but her gaze suddenly dropped.
[Gu Hui-jeong’s emotion is being shared.]
The emotion of the woman whose Affection Level was MAX was transmitted to Beom-jun.
It was a terrible fear, consumed by darkness. The more Gu Hui-jeong knew of Han Myeong-jae, the more she feared him.
“But he doesn’t have much interest in running Korea University Hospital. I’ve handled almost all of the hospital’s operations, and the Chairman has only made decisions.”
Beom-jun gleaned a hint from her words.
‘He wants to keep everything under his control and make all the decisions.’
And the moment Gu Hui-jeong’s words ended, a Quest window appeared.
[Main Quest has been created.]

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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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