Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 46

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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 46.
Inside the Commander’s Office.
Days had passed since the incident at Korea University Hospital, yet Commander Hwang Seok-hun remained seething. What kind of humiliation was this before his soldiers?
“Does he think he’s so smart?”
Granted, the tactical situation was difficult.
Headquarters wanted intelligence on the North Korean soldier, and the Military Hospital had bungled things below. In essence, he’d shouldered all the responsibility.
Honestly, he’d expected the North Korean soldier to die. The military doctors had said resuscitation would be unlikely.
He’d grown anxious not knowing how long the North Korean soldier would survive, but the situation had shifted now.
From here on, all he needed to do was investigate Ri Mu-sung for intelligence, and the Military Hospital incident could be quietly buried.
The Commander chuckled to himself in front of the officer.
‘Fortune is on my side. Should’ve read people better before jumping in like that.’
Upon returning to the military from Korea University Hospital, he’d scrutinized every detail about the Delegated Hospital arrangement.
The hospital director had made it sound so grand. But it amounted to little more than slightly improved conditions for the soldiers—far below his expectations.
Most importantly, there was nothing in it for the Commander personally. With nothing to lose, why stir up needless trouble?
Clearly, the hospital director didn’t know how to operate in this world.
And the Commander resented having to play along with Choi Beom-jun’s wishes. Remembering how he’d been manipulated in front of his soldiers still infuriated him.
The way he’d stammered and trembled! The Commander found it shameful even now.
Choi Beom-jun, was it? He couldn’t stand watching that bastard strut about satisfied. Petty as it may be, there’s no help for it—personal vengeance, once unleashed, knows no bounds.
‘Handsome and polished on the outside? That man doesn’t know how to read people.’
The Commander, having misjudged Beom-jun, continued to evaluate him through his own lens.
It would have been far easier if he’d just asked nicely. Then the Commander could’ve pretended to yield.
“What did the Vice Minister say?”
“Nothing further since then, sir. Wasn’t it your decision to make anyway?”
The officer answered the Commander’s question.
That was right—this was the Commander’s authority. A two-star general held significant decision-making power in his hands.
‘Whether it’s a Delegated Hospital or whatever, I decide it all in the end.’
Reports were merely procedural.
“But sir, the media’s been showing unusual interest lately. I’m a bit concerned.”
The officer, aware of his superior’s thinking, cautioned that public sentiment was suspicious. Turn on the television these days and you’d see coverage of patient Ri Mu-sung, along with Korea University Hospital.
“I know. I’m aware of it.”
The Commander spoke as if he’d known all along. The officer who advised him was sharp—he’d earned a doctorate in civilian life, if memory served. Whatever he said was worth taking seriously.
‘Best to avoid provoking them and buy time.’
In cases like this, defense and endurance from the rear was better than rash offense. No point stirring up an enemy already on high alert.
“If they contact us, try not to take the call. If they get through, tell them we’re discussing it internally. Tell them we don’t know anything.”
Drag it out long enough and it disappears entirely. Such things were common in government contracts.
“Understood, sir. Oh, and the director of Korea University Hospital is being interviewed on KBC News tonight. Shall we watch?”
“What? The hospital director went on the news?”
It was exactly nine o’clock—news time. The officer picked up the remote and turned on the television.
Watching the hospital director in a white jacket sit across from the Announcer, the Commander’s expression darkened.
On screen, Beom-jun continued speaking with practiced eloquence.
– Through this incident, I’ve come to realize we must guarantee healthcare rights for our military personnel. After all, every Korean male must serve in the military at some point in his life.
The Commander bristled at that hollow-sounding fool speaking about the military at all. Desktop jockeys could say anything.
As Beom-jun finished, the Announcer smoothly continued.
– Regarding this, I hear Korea University Hospital has made special efforts?
– Yes, going forward, Korea University Hospital will do our utmost to support military personnel’s health as a Delegated Hospital. Even those unable to visit in person will receive remote medical services, so you can rest assured.
‘What?’
At Beom-jun’s words on the television, the Commander went blank. The officer beside him wore the same expression.
Regardless of their shock, Beom-jun and the Announcer continued their exchange.
– That was Choi Beom-jun, director of Korea University Hospital. Thank you to all our viewers.
The news ended with the Announcer’s closing remarks. The stunned Commander grabbed the phone roughly and called Beom-jun.
‘He announces the Delegated Hospital like we’ve already agreed? Does this man have any sense?’
After a long ring, Beom-jun answered. The moment the call connected, the Commander roared.
“Are you insane? Didn’t I tell you we’re still discussing it? And you broadcast it live?”
Even media play had limits. Broadcasting this on live news was surely madness.
But Beom-jun didn’t answer immediately from the other end of the line.
The sound of him thanking people around him suggested he was still at the broadcast studio.
“Hey, you bastard. Not going to answer?”
The Commander shouted, but Beom-jun didn’t respond. Only footsteps came through the receiver—he seemed to be moving somewhere quieter.
‘He should at least say something, shouldn’t he?’
The Commander seethed as he waited for Beom-jun.
“Your news is rather late, isn’t it? I’m disappointed your intelligence network is this limited, sir.”
What followed from the hospital director was astonishing. His news was late?
“The Delegated Hospital designation is already finalized. We’ve formed an official Task Force Team, and naturally I’m the team leader. So from now on, it’d be wise to address me with proper respect. Understand, Commander Hwang Seok-hun?”
At Beom-jun’s casual tone, the Commander couldn’t find words.
* * *
Minutes earlier.
In the Studio with the ON AIR light off, Beom-jun exchanged greetings with the Announcer.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“You worked hard too. You did so well—are you a natural on camera?”
She had smoothly guided the conversation, making Beom-jun seem completely at ease.
“Oh, no.”
Beom-jun checked his phone. Still no calls.
“I saw that Korea University Hospital introduction video too. You look great on screen, and you’re young—if you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”
Just as she began a natural drift into personal conversation, Beom-jun’s phone rang.
– Ring, ring-ring.
“Oh, there’s a call. Excuse me a moment.”
Beom-jun asked her permission and took the call, whereupon the Commander immediately bellowed.
“Are you insane? Didn’t I tell you we’re still discussing it? And you broadcast it live?”
The woman across from him seemed to hear it too, and her expression hardened. But it wasn’t the shouting that made her face go rigid.
It was Beom-jun’s expression as he answered. Rather than startled, he was smiling.
His private self—refined, capable, cool—turned out to be far more calculated than she’d imagined.
“Well then. Thank you for your time.”
Leaving the Announcer to her sudden awkwardness, Beom-jun stepped out of the Studio. He thought of the Commander fuming on the other end, and moved with unhurried composure.
“Your news is rather late, isn’t it? I’m disappointed your intelligence network is this limited, sir.”
Finding a quiet spot to continue the call, Beom-jun took the first jab at the Commander.
“What did you just say! Huh?”
Jabbed just as he’d jabbed, the Commander’s voice already wavered. His anger had swollen beyond control during the silence.
“How was I supposed to reach you? You weren’t taking calls. But appearing on the broadcast worked out nicely—didn’t expect you to call so quickly.”
At Beom-jun’s brazen words, the Commander’s last thread of composure snapped. Beom-jun had already shifted to casual speech, matching the Commander’s tone.
“Don’t talk to me about Delegated Hospitals or any of that. You made the announcement on live broadcast—you clean up your own mess! Try whatever you like, see where it gets you. The military’s done with you, understood?!”
True to form, the Commander still believed himself dominant in this situation, emboldened by the assumption he could act with impunity.
“Didn’t you say that’s not a decision for you to make?”
“If I say it is, then it is! We won’t be in contact after this!”
Emotional now, the Commander tried to hang up. But Beom-jun’s voice dropped to a different register.
“You’ll regret those words.”
At Beom-jun’s shift in tone, the Commander flinched. He sensed something dangerous by instinct.
“I said your news was late—you should think about what you missed.”
Beom-jun offered a hint, but the Commander didn’t grasp it.
‘Did he say something like that?’
He’d been half-ignoring Beom-jun’s words. Truth be told, not listening at all.
“The Delegated Hospital designation is already finalized. We’ve formed an official Task Force Team, and naturally I’m the team leader. So from now on, it’d be wise to show me proper respect, sir. Understand, Commander Hwang Seok-hun?”
At hearing his own name from Beom-jun’s mouth, the Commander froze with the phone in his grip. He’d never revealed his name to Beom-jun.
On reflection, the name was embroidered on his uniform, so learning it was hardly remarkable. Yet he reacted with disproportionate alarm—unsettled by information Beom-jun possessed that he himself had overlooked.
“….”
Shifting to alert status, rather than act recklessly, he observed and said nothing.
“Not responding counts as insubordination, doesn’t it? Chief of Staff Choi Yu-sung would be very pleased to hear there was mutiny the moment the Task Force was formed.”
But at the name of the superior Beom-jun invoked, the Commander had to speak.
“Wait—how do you know the Chief of Staff?”
“Not going to answer?”
Beom-jun no longer treated him with casual mockery. Since mentioning the Task Force, his tone had grown grave, making the Commander acutely aware of his position.
“No, I mean—shouldn’t you explain how things came to this?”
The Commander shifted tactics quickly.
This was the greatest advantage of vertical hierarchy: once the chain of command was clear, nothing worked more efficiently.
“Why ask me? Just wait—they’ll tell you from above. Do try waiting, though I wouldn’t count on it.”
“….”
Beom-jun echoed the Commander’s own stalling tactic back at him, pointedly referencing how he’d avoided contact by dragging things out.
“Then I look forward to working with you, Commander Hwang.”
The lengthy call ended, and the Commander had gotten nothing from Beom-jun.
Beom-jun ended the call in high spirits.

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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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