Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 141
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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 141.
Beom-jun’s eyes flashed as he checked the Quest.
When the Uigwonhoe membership restriction was lifted this time, Min Jeong-sik absolutely had to be the one admitted.
“The Uigwonhoe isn’t something you can just join by waiting around, is it?”
Beom-jun said to Kim Jae-gyeong.
Before Kang Yo-han withdrew from the Uigwonhoe, he’d told Beom-jun he could join immediately as a special member.
“They said the admission policy is an internal Uigwonhoe regulation, so it isn’t disclosed.”
“Regulations, my foot. Han Myeong-jae’s just going to do whatever suits him.”
Beom-jun shook his head. There’s no way the Uigwonhoe would operate fairly.
Just then, someone else came to the Director’s Office.
Knock, knock.
The man who stepped through the opening door was Min Jeong-sik.
They’d just been talking about him, and here he appeared. He wasn’t one for subtlety.
“Oh, Director Min.”
Kim Jae-gyeong was flustered—he’d rushed to Beom-jun, bypassing his own direct superior.
“Manager Kim, I figured you’d be here.”
Min Jeong-sik, for his part, seemed unsurprised. He knew well of Kim Jae-gyeong’s loyalty to Beom-jun. And he spoke directly to Beom-jun.
“I thought you might need me, so I came early.”
Watching Min Jeong-sik outmaneuver him, Beom-jun chuckled softly.
“Welcome. I was just about to call for you.”
Beom-jun gestured for him to sit on the sofa. He stepped away from his desk to conduct the proper conversation. Beom-jun sat down as well.
Beom-jun, Min Jeong-sik, and Kim Jae-gyeong arranged themselves on the U-shaped sofa. The seat of honor naturally went to Beom-jun, the right side to Min Jeong-sik, and the left to Kim Jae-gyeong.
“Did Manager Kim tell you about the Uigwonhoe situation?”
Min Jeong-sik assessed the situation first, gauging what conversation had taken place before he arrived.
“Ah, yes. The Saint Hospital Director’s withdrawal from the Uigwonhoe—Director Kang already knew about it. Apparently, he’s the one who made him withdraw.”
“Director Kang did?”
Beom-jun nodded once, then spoke.
“He believed the Uigwonhoe was a flawless place.”
Kim Jae-gyeong summarized what Beom-jun had just told him.
“You see, Team Lead Park had evidence that the Chairman has been embezzling Korea University Hospital funds all this time. She handed it over to the Saint Hospital Director.”
“Ah, so that’s how it happened. Park is that accountant friend of yours, right? I knew she took medical leave.”
Min Jeong-sik caught on quickly. He’d been watching the situation unfold through Kim Jae-gyeong all along.
Beom-jun didn’t waste time getting to what he wanted to know.
“Did the Uigwonhoe contact you about joining?”
“They said I’m on the candidate list and to prepare myself. They said I’d hear from them soon. But honestly, something similar happened last year and fell through, so I’m not certain.”
Beom-jun’s expression darkened slightly. The Uigwonhoe wasn’t targeting Min Jeong-sik specifically. They’d simply sent out a blanket notice to everyone on their waiting list.
“To be honest, I’ve lost interest in the Uigwonhoe.”
Min Jeong-sik seemed to have come to ask Beom-jun how to handle his Uigwonhoe membership—essentially to communicate that he no longer cared about joining.
But Beom-jun spoke decisively.
“No. I want you to join the Uigwonhoe. Win Han Myeong-jae’s favor at any cost.”
“…So you want me to gather intelligence on the Uigwonhoe’s internal affairs.”
Min Jeong-sik understood Beom-jun’s meaning at once. A veteran of the medical field, he grasped exactly what Beom-jun was after.
“Can you manage it?”
“Of course. I’m looking forward to it.”
At Beom-jun’s words, Min Jeong-sik shrugged slightly as he spoke.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone into the field.”
He seemed genuinely excited. As an executive, most of his work had been administrative, but he relished the chance to draw his sword again.
Beom-jun, however, felt some unease. He’d assumed the Uigwonhoe wanted Min Jeong-sik because an executive position had opened up due to Kang Yo-han’s departure, but that wasn’t the case.
‘Hmm, this could get risky if it goes well. Precarious. Then again, that’s what quests are always like.’
He’d thought Min Jeong-sik would slip into the Uigwonhoe smoothly, but it wouldn’t be that simple.
For this to work, Han Myeong-jae had to take a special interest in Min Jeong-sik. He had to want him in the Uigwonhoe.
Once the door of the Uigwonhoe cracked open—
He’d push through as many recruits as possible at once, with Min Jeong-sik at the vanguard.
Beom-jun’s lips gradually curved upward as he pondered.
Getting Min Jeong-sik to win Han Myeong-jae’s favor would be easy if he used himself—the very person Han Myeong-jae was desperately trying to capture right now.
Once someone changes sides, doing it a second or third time seems simple.
‘If Min Jeong-sik and I appear to fall out, Han Myeong-jae will react. What’s he going to do? Scrutinize every single employee at Korea University Hospital.’
Min Jeong-sik had already registered as a Talent, so he wouldn’t side with Han Myeong-jae again, but only Beom-jun knew that.
Once Beom-jun’s smile lifted, it wouldn’t come down. This was a decent smoke screen.
Meanwhile, Kim Jae-gyeong watched Beom-jun grin and knew he was cooking up something.
“What should I do, Director?”
Kim Jae-gyeong had found a role for himself. Beom-jun answered playfully.
“Jae-gyeong, are you good at fighting?”
“Excuse me??”
At Beom-jun’s unexpected question, Kim Jae-gyeong’s eyes and mouth widened.
Kim Jae-gyeong hunched his shoulders—oddly, given his large frame. With his thick, short neck, his chin nearly touched his collarbone.
“I don’t mean an actual fight. I mean pretend to fight.”
Beom-jun told the frightened Kim Jae-gyeong.
Then he lowered his voice and explained what needed to be done.
“In front of witnesses, act disappointed with Director Min. Say you didn’t know he was interested in the Uigwonhoe. The more people who see it, the better. You understand?”
“And then should I come see you?”
“Yeah, starting next week, you can come to my office whenever you want.”
“I’ll stay quiet. No word should leak out, or the Chairman might come looking for me directly.”
Beom-jun incorporated everyone’s input, and with Min Jeong-sik’s and Kim Jae-gyeong’s contributions, a convincing scenario took shape.
“Good. Let’s do it that way.”
Beom-jun nodded, confirming the plan moving forward.
Min Jeong-sik and Kim Jae-gyeong left the Director’s Office with renewed resolve. Min Jeong-sik seemed slightly thrilled; Kim Jae-gyeong seemed slightly nervous.
It was a good combination. Pairing the two had been a smart move.
Left alone in the Director’s Office, Beom-jun returned to his desk. On it lay the Talent Contract he’d retrieved from his Item Window earlier, neatly arranged.
After he hooked Han Myeong-jae and got Min Jeong-sik into the Uigwonhoe, what came next? He didn’t know how the Uigwonhoe would react.
Then it would be good to hear from someone who’d been in the Uigwonhoe until recently. Actually, he didn’t even need to hear it. Once registered as a Talent, he’d gain access to all that person’s knowledge and information.
Beom-jun took out a pen.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Black ink clung to the pen’s tip, bleeding across the contract and forming letters.
Party A: Choi Beom-jun
Party B: Kang Yo-han.
The moment Beom-jun finished writing the names, the Talent Contract levitated into the air.
Light erupted from the document—so bright that even with his eyes closed, the glare was blinding.
* * *
At that same moment, at Saint Hospital.
Kang Yo-han was making rounds. This was a special ward created in the basement annex.
Among the top-4 hospitals, Saint Hospital had a disproportionately high ratio of socially disadvantaged patients, and this space existed for them alone.
Kang Yo-han had built this first after becoming Director. He’d deliberately placed it in the main building’s center so he’d see it every time he came to work.
At the entrance to the ward he’d visited after a long absence, the familiar inscription from throughout Saint Hospital was displayed—deliberately written in large characters.
Hope Ward – Dedication to Life, Healing Through Service
It was essentially self-praise. Buried in it was pride: he was a director who cared for the vulnerable.
But as his attention drifted elsewhere, the Hope Ward had been relegated to the basement annex. A Public Health Services Division had taken its place. The patients themselves had been shoved into a corner. It was ironic.
Watching the Hope Ward tucked away in the hospital’s margin, Kang Yo-han realized again, just as Beom-jun had said, that he truly had been sacrificing patients.
‘It was real.’
Kang Yo-han suppressed his conflicted feelings and entered the Hope Ward. The first thing that reached his ears was talk of money.
“You’re changing the medication? How much will that cost?”
“Sigh, more expenses.”
Here, money was discussed as much as health status—because it was a matter of survival.
Those covered by Medical Assistance, not regular health insurance, bore only five to ten percent of their total treatment costs, yet even that often led them to refuse treatment.
There wasn’t enough awareness of living while maintaining health. The thinking was: I’ll get sick again anyway, so why spend money on treatment?
Kang Yo-han scratched his ear as he heard the uncomfortable words. Something itched inside his ear.
He found it grating when patients talked about money. That’s why he’d gradually distanced himself.
But today, for some reason, it felt different. He wasn’t sure why, but it felt all right.
Kang Yo-han went blank for a moment, as if broken. His secretary grew concerned watching him stare vacantly into space.
“Director, are you really going through with it? If you’d rather not, it’s fine. The Foot-washing Ceremony was more of an event when Saint Hospital first opened anyway. You haven’t done it in decades.”
Kang Yo-han had chosen a long-standing tradition from Saint Hospital—an event where he washed patients’ feet. His secretary questioned why he’d do such a thing, and Kang Yo-han answered:
“Today is a meaningful day. I want to remember it.”
The day he’d withdrawn from the Uigwonhoe. Kang Yo-han had resolved to live a new life, and the Foot-washing Ceremony was its beginning.
“Are the patients ready?”
“Yes, we selected three of the long-term patients in order.”
Seeing Kang Yo-han’s resolve was firm, the secretary didn’t try to dissuade him further.
Splash, splash, whoosh.
Kang Yo-han lifted a patient’s foot and placed it in the basin. He poured water over it.
The patients’ feet, worn from hardship, were covered in calluses. The clear water gradually turned murky.
The staff watching nearby—and the patient himself—found the Foot-washing Ceremony awkward. The patient especially kept tensing and relaxing his foot, flinching.
The people around them felt uncomfortable, but Kang Yo-han was the opposite.
Splash, splash.
The restlessness that had plagued Kang Yo-han seemed to slowly fade.
As he washed the patient’s feet, the filth that had followed him was washed away as well.
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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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