Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 33

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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 33.
Steam rose from the Beef Head Soup Rice that had just arrived after the boiled meat, fogging Seong Hyuk’s glasses. Sipping the creamy bone broth, Beom Jun and Seong Hyuk could only exhale in admiration.
“Ahh, now this is it.”
“Magnificent.”
This was the craftsmanship of a master—something you’d never find at those trendy restaurants that shine briefly before vanishing. And that head meat, in particular, was nothing short of art.
Late in the evening, the two men stripped off their white coats and tore into their bowls with abandon. Appreciating such artistry needed no other words.
“Sluurrrp.”
“Smack-smack.”
For a long while, only the sound of broth being drawn and rice being swallowed filled the space between them. Only when the bowl’s bottom came into view did Beom Jun finally speak.
“How’s your condition these days? You’ve got your hands full with the Multidisciplinary Team Approach and all.”
“Being busy is always the same either way. I thought it was a necessary part of what the hospital needs.”
Hmm, when they’d filmed the promotional material, he’d pushed through with sheer force of will. But this time was different. Seong Hyuk genuinely approved of the Multidisciplinary Team Approach.
He was adapting well to the changes at Korean University Hospital. That was something to be grateful for and genuinely surprising, even considering he was a newly appointed professor. In the medical field, it was customary for people to choose what they’d always done out of habit.
And so, beginning with Seong Hyuk, the Multidisciplinary Team Approach system was taking root at Korean University Hospital.
Beom Jun regarded Seong Hyuk closely and spoke.
“You’ve done well. With you handling it, things are working properly. The Thoracic Surgery Department will become the standard for Korean University Hospital going forward.”
At his words, Seong Hyuk cleared his throat awkwardly and fidgeted. As if he had an allergy to compliments.
“That’s not it. It seems what you’re thinking is correct, Director.”
Seong Hyuk quietly carried out his duties and stood by Beom Jun’s side.
Contrary to such blunt speech, a Status Window appeared before Beom Jun’s eyes.
[Seong Hyuk’s Favorability is at MAX and cannot increase further.]
[Seong Hyuk has developed Respect for you.]
Watching Seong Hyuk sit there unmoved, as though feigning ignorance, Beom Jun recalled the contents of Doctor X.
Originally, Seong Hyuk’s internal growth should have come through the patient Kim Pan Soo. Bearing heavy responsibility for treatment, he would communicate with his patient and share that burden.
But as the story shifted, the focus seemed to be pointing toward Beom Jun instead.
‘How did it come to this? If I don’t raise the Survival Probability, I really will die like the Original Work.’
In any case, the main events don’t change. Just as the order in which patients are admitted remains the same.
[Current Survival Probability is 24%.]
The moment Beom Jun thought it, a Status Window appeared. Barely twenty percent. With a life hanging in the balance, he couldn’t play a survival game based on odds. There was only one choice: push toward one hundred percent.
[Through the effect of Respect, Seong Hyuk’s emotions are being shared with you.]
Another Status Window materialized. Seong Hyuk’s expression was just as grave. He seemed to notice the shadow on Beom Jun’s face and worry.
And Seong Hyuk, who rarely spoke of himself, let slip an unexpected remark.
“I’m proud that you’re in Thoracic Surgery, Director. That must be why you’re looking out for me.”
It was probably his best attempt at comfort.
“Me?”
But in that instant, Beom Jun nearly spit out the meat in his mouth.
It was the first he’d heard of this. Was the hospital director’s original specialty Thoracic Surgery? In Doctor X, the hospital director’s background was covered so briefly that no such details appeared.
As Seong Hyuk looked puzzled at Beom Jun’s silence, Beom Jun responded with quick wit.
“Right, of course! It’d be hard not to take an interest, wouldn’t it?”
His voice had risen in his startlement, but fortunately Seong Hyuk didn’t seem to notice. Though what would he have caught, really.
“It’s interesting that you graduated from Korean University Medical School and chose Thoracic Surgery.”
“Ha, well, yes.”
Beom Jun laughed sheepishly and left it at that.
‘How would I know? If I’d been the original me, I’d have chosen the more promising specialty.’
Still, he’d managed to gain crucial information. ‘The hospital director specialized in Thoracic Surgery at Korean University Medical School.’ If that was true, then the director’s dislike of Seong Hyuk likely had personal roots too. Seeing Seong Hyuk’s skill, as a fellow doctor, there would have been no escaping the comparison.
“Thanks to you, the future of Thoracic Surgery seems bright, senior.”
Seong Hyuk, uncharacteristically embarrassed, replied.
“It’s because of you, not me.”
The Thoracic Surgery Department at Korean University Hospital would live or die in his hands, but there was no way Seong Hyuk could know that now. He took Beom Jun’s reply as mere politeness and moved on.
“Ah, and through this case, I learned that… it’s not enough for just the two of us to do well.”
As if the Beef Head Soup Rice contained alcohol, Seong Hyuk was unusually talkative.
He seemed to have gained much perspective from working with the Multidisciplinary Team. He must have heard the struggles of the supporting departments beyond just the Cardiology Department.
Beom Jun too had been genuinely shocked when he first consulted with other departments. They were the same doctors working in the same hospital, yet they seemed to have more differences than common ground.
Specialization, fundamentally, means digging narrow and deep into one field. And if you keep digging in the same spot, isolation inevitably follows.
Unable to understand one another, dialogue breaks down under the guise of mutual respect. Each staying out of the other’s sacred territory.
Beom Jun was no exception.
If he hadn’t focused solely on the patient in front of him,
If he’d learned to look wider and raise his eyes,
Perhaps many things would have been different.
“I didn’t understand it either when I was a professor.”
Beom Jun felt memories from his previous life surface distantly.
Now he made his living as a hospital director, but once he’d been trampled and scolded by one regularly.
Not enough surgical cases. More medical revenue needed. More academic society activities. Develop junior staff.
There were plenty of reasons, but he’d never thought to connect them. He’d simply done what the director asked, task by task.
Setting the past behind him, Beom Jun patted Seong Hyuk on the shoulder.
“Once you know, that’s enough. Whatever you don’t know yet, you learn as you go.”
Seong Hyuk smiled comfortably alongside Beom Jun’s grin.
But this wasn’t advice for Seong Hyuk—it was Beom Jun speaking to himself. Now that the chance had come, he would learn as he went.
Running Korean University Hospital as its director, clearing Quests one by one—he would figure it all out in time.
“Yes!”
At Seong Hyuk’s firm voice, Beom Jun made another quiet vow.
* * *
A few days later, Beom Jun visited the patient Kim Pan Soo’s room.
It was the day after he’d spent two days in the Intensive Care Unit following surgery and was transferred to the General Ward where visitors were allowed.
In the room was the daughter-in-law who had been present during Seong Hyuk’s first consultation.
“Father, thank heavens you’re doing this well. When they said you’d gone to the ICU, you can’t imagine how frightened we were.”
“Don’t worry. They told me beforehand that it’s standard practice at my age. They explained it all before the surgery.”
This was to prepare for any emergency by maintaining Intensive Observation, and patient Kim Pan Soo had clearly understood the medical team’s explanation.
“Hello? How are you feeling?”
Beom Jun stood at the foot of the bed and asked.
From reviewing his Medical Chart almost daily, Beom Jun felt a sense of familiarity with him.
He’d been paying closer attention to Kim Pan Soo than anyone—checking how his blood pressure was, whether his surgical wound was healing properly, and so on.
In fact, the two days Kim Pan Soo spent in the Intensive Care Unit had been Beom Jun’s decision. Unlike the Original Work, since the surgery had gone smoothly, Beom Jun had been anxious about other possible complications.
Fortunately, patient Kim Pan Soo greeted him kindly, contrary to Beom Jun’s worries.
“Doing very well, thank you. So that’s who you are—wonderful to see you again, Director.”
He spoke while noting the title embroidered on Beom Jun’s white coat. Over seventy though he was, he remained spry, and his eyesight seemed excellent too—clearly a man who took good care of himself.
“You’ve been no trouble at all, patient.”
“Oh, what did I do? It’s Professor Seong who worked so hard.”
At Beom Jun’s words, he demurred and brought up Seong Hyuk instead.
Not everything is recorded in charts. In the hours not documented on paper, Seong Hyuk must have been coming and going, watching over Kim Pan Soo.
And Kim Pan Soo had surely sensed that despite Seong Hyuk’s blunt manner, he genuinely cared for him.
Kim Pan Soo and his daughter-in-law repeated their thanks to Beom Jun.
“Thanks to you, I even learned about a condition I didn’t know I had. I’m truly grateful. It’s all thanks to you and Professor Seong providing such thorough support.”
Watching the daughter-in-law’s posture grow increasingly deferential, Beom Jun bowed in turn.
“It’s nothing. We’re just doing our job, after all.”
After repeating this exchange of gratitude, Beom Jun abruptly let slip what he’d been holding in.
When the mind weakens, the body crumbles easily.
Research findings on how a patient’s stress level creates meaningful differences in disease progression and recovery are commonplace.
For this reason, Beom Jun believed Kim Pan Soo played a significant role in his own surgical outcome.
If a doctor gives their best equally to all patients without discrimination, what doctors actually do for patients is largely the same.
But the patients’ responses vary widely. Some improve remarkably with treatment, while others show no response to it at all.
In common parlance, it’s said to depend on the patient’s constitution. Perhaps it’s the will of heaven.
Beom Jun felt something peculiar watching Kim Pan Soo breathing and alive, different from the Original Work’s content. Of course, this time he’d known the cause of death beforehand, so he’d been able to prepare.
His mind retraced memories from his past life—patients he’d lost.
‘Could we have saved them?’
Though he knew it was impossible to save every patient, seeing living proof before his eyes stirred his emotions.
But he didn’t dwell on such things at length. The patient simply needed to live his new life well.
“Rest well on your way out. Take care getting home.”
To Beom Jun’s words, Kim Pan Soo replied with a warm gleam in his eyes.
“Just doing the usual work… I was fortunate to be treated well, but there are surely others who weren’t so blessed.”
“Yes, well…”
Beom Jun was momentarily taken aback by Kim Pan Soo’s words. Kim Pan Soo looked at him in silence for a long moment—as if he’d known him for years.
“But you did everything you could, surely.”
Following Kim Pan Soo’s measured voice, the air in the room shifted gently. His words held a kindness beyond mere courtesy, and they soothed Beom Jun.
“That moment existed, so this moment exists now. If I’d given up then, there would be no me today. So nothing was wasted.”
Under Kim Pan Soo’s thoughtful gaze, Beom Jun felt something strike at his heart.
‘You did everything you could.’
The words echoed in his ears like a refrain.
Kim Pan Soo was right. But for Beom Jun, it wasn’t enough. The patient had gambled his life on his doctor.
As he heard Kim Pan Soo’s comfort, Beom Jun’s senses instead sharpened.
“The past can’t be changed, but there’s always tomorrow ahead.”
Even after the patient is discharged, the doctor remains at the hospital, preparing to meet the next one.
Beom Jun too had no intention of stopping.

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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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