Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 55

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 55.
Han Myeong-jae, the chairman, investigated the research at Cheon Hui University Hospital that Beom-jun had allegedly helped with.
To be honest, at first he’d been skeptical—”Why would he bother with such useless research?”—but
it turned out the Hospital Director had his fingers in it. Looking at Beom-jun’s track record, he wouldn’t have started trouble for nothing.
The chairman couldn’t shake the suspicion that there was something to Jason’s research.
The young female patient was used for imaging, and the North Korean patient was used to attract funding. Quite artfully done.
The Director had an almost uncanny run of luck. As if the entire universe was pushing his back toward success.
The chairman had known such fortune once.
In his youth, everything had come together—he’d become Hospital Director without real struggle.
To climb high, skill alone isn’t enough.
One always needs providence on your side.
“That’s how it goes.”
The chairman hesitated momentarily at the strange phenomenon.
Part of him sensed it would be wise not to touch Beom-jun,
while another part bristled at the thought of letting him operate unchecked.
“Chairman, did you call for me?”
But his deliberation vanished the moment the Vice Director appeared.
“Yes, have a seat.”
No one escapes scrutiny entirely. However fortunate a person might be, shake them hard enough and something will come loose.
“I’ve been hearing that the Hospital Director is now getting involved in patient treatment. Word is he even stepped into surgery recently.”
The chairman took issue with Beom-jun’s involvement in patient care.
“Just as you say. Apparently he performed a proxy surgery while Professor Im Sung-hyuk was on medical leave.”
Proxy surgery refers to a situation where a patient consents to surgery by a specific doctor, but a different doctor actually performs it in secret—particularly when the substitute lacks proper credentials, such as a non-specialist or a nurse.
Conversely, if a patient consented and a more skilled doctor took the scalpel, that presents no problem. The patient would actually benefit.
“The patient apparently gave consent. But I’m not sure if that makes it acceptable.”
Yet the Vice Director, who harbored ill will toward Beom-jun, spoke with irritation in her voice.
The chairman nodded at her words.
As if the patient understood anything.
The attending physician had undoubtedly pressured them into consent. And no patient ever refuses when a doctor tells them to do something.
That’s simply how medical care works. It rests on absolute trust, left to the physician’s conscience.
Therefore, all medical decisions regarding treatment ultimately come down to the professor, and without protecting the physician’s interests, the quality of care cannot improve.
‘How long ago did I tell him to keep his head down, finish his term quietly, and step aside?’
The chairman was displeased to hear that Beom-jun had involved himself in treatment. The actual details didn’t matter much.
Beom-jun should have remained silent. No word of this should have surfaced.
If gossip was already leaking inside like this, what must people outside think—that Cheon Hui University Hospital and this hospital were in cahoots.
“He still thinks he’s a professor, I suppose. You’ve made it clear he’s not Director material, haven’t you?”
The Vice Director briefed the chairman on the information she’d gathered about Beom-jun.
The fact that the Hospital Director was backing Im Sung-hyuk had become a frequent topic at Korean University Hospital lately.
If he were truly a Director, he ought to focus on administration. Yet he’d been preoccupied with the Chest Surgery Department, and beyond that—Neurosurgery, and now research from Cheon Hui University Hospital.
‘Hmm, is he interested in essential medical care? This Cheon Hui research was about cardiac disease, wasn’t it?’
Seeing the coincidental overlap, the chairman misread Beom-jun’s intent.
Essential medical care is the realm directly tied to keeping patients alive. Remove it and patients die en masse.
And essential medical care is inevitably unprofitable. Insurance reimbursement rates are low, and the cost of maintaining 24-hour standby capacity is enormous.
It was no different from throwing the hospital’s money away on the street.
‘If I let the Hospital Director continue like this, Korean University Hospital will fall apart.’
With one eyebrow raised, the chairman asked the Vice Director,
“You’re not going to just watch this happen, are you?”
“Of course not. A disobedient dog needs a leash.”
Vice Director Gu Hui-jeong finally heard the words she’d been waiting for.
Watching the chairman speak ill of Beom-jun with such vehemence, a smile formed in the corners of her eyes.
“Have the Board of Directors prepare themselves.”
“Yes! You mean to call a board meeting, sir?”
And at the chairman’s reply, the Vice Director’s lips twitched upward.
The board had voted to remove directors before. More than one had been dismissed that way.
Sensing the shift in the Vice Director’s mood, the chairman preempted her.
“Not just yet. Timing is everything in these matters. Once the Hospital Director makes another misstep, we’ll convene accordingly.”
“Sigh, I’d rather he just gave us cause right now.”
Flushed with anticipation moments before, she quieted at the chairman’s counsel. Grinding her teeth, she made her contempt for Beom-jun plain,
and the chairman soothed her.
“Don’t be in such a hurry. There’s no shortage of ammunition for next time anyway.”
“When you say ‘next time,’ what exactly are you referring to?”
At the chairman’s hint, the Vice Director’s eyes lit up. In this covert conversation, she felt certain they were aligned.
“Professor Im Sung-hyuk has been earning quite a reputation lately.”
But the name that left the chairman’s lips was unexpected. Im Sung-hyuk—wasn’t that the professor the Hospital Director was currently backing so hard?
Taken aback by this unforeseen name, the Vice Director paused to think, then laughed outright.
‘Oh. Now that I think about it, that could work.’
Imagining Im Sung-hyuk as Director, Hui-jeong’s lips curled into a perfect circle.
Unlike the current Director, he knows nothing but patients. With proper guidance, he might be manageable.
The only concern was that he remained attached to the Hospital Director.
“But won’t there be an issue with Professor Im being the Hospital Director’s man?”
“That’s precisely what makes it an interesting scenario. Professor Im would appear to betray the Director.”
The chairman replied with relish, and his raised smile revealed a spiteful gleam in his eyes.
“Ha, indeed! Very astute, sir.”
When she thought about it, the two had only recently grown close—before that, they’d been worse than enemies.
If there was no gap between them to exploit, they could create one.
The Vice Director clapped her hands like someone delighted by an entertaining performance.
* * *
Beom-jun felt restless returning to work after so long.
It was nearly a week—a two-night academic conference plus the weekend—since he’d last walked into the Director’s Office at Korean University Hospital.
Click, creak.
The room, vacant for so long, lacked vitality. Despite Jae-gyeong warming the space beforehand and another secretary having prepared coffee.
Beom-jun settled into the tall black leather chair that rose to his crown.
Turning his head, sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the forest of buildings beyond suddenly seemed appealing.
‘I wonder if I can keep living like this.’
If the first part of Doctor X concludes safely, then he survives—he won’t die.
The next episode would be roughly the midpoint of the original. Once winter passes and spring arrives, the death of Director Beom-jun will draw near.
Beom-jun closed his eyes in the sunlight. He repeated to himself internally: I can do this. I will survive, no matter what.
Knock, knock.
After a moment, a knock sounded in the quiet office.
“Welcome back, sir.”
It was Jae-gyeong who opened the door. His arms were full of documents requiring approval.
Approval could normally be done quickly through HIS, but since Beom-jun claimed to have lost his memory, Jae-gyeong had taken to conducting in-person briefings like this.
“Yeah. Nothing happened while I was away?”
While Beom-jun had been in Busan, Jae-gyeong had been handling military hospital liaison work.
The fact that he hadn’t contacted meant he’d handled it well on his own.
“Of course not. We’ll begin HIS implementation at the military hospital this week.”
“Good work. You’re doing well.”
Beom-jun, unlike before, didn’t scrutinize the progress. He let Jae-gyeong exercise his own judgment.
If he let Jae-gyeong work freely but then examined every detail, it would just give him a headache.
But each time the same status window appeared, it seemed this new approach of Beom-jun’s was working better on Jae-gyeong than before.
[Kim Jae-gyeong’s favorability has maxed out and cannot increase further.]
[Kim Jae-gyeong’s favorability has maxed out and cannot increase further.]
[Kim Jae-gyeong’s favorability has maxed out and cannot increase further.]
Once Jae-gyeong began receiving recognition from Beom-jun, he became thirsty for it—working with even greater zeal.
He brought information without being asked.
“Ah, and the Vice Director’s movements have been unusual lately. It looks like she’s making contact with the Board of Directors.”
“The Board? What’s the angle?”
Beom-jun responded to Jae-gyeong’s report with skepticism. He couldn’t think of anything that could stick to him.
‘I mean, what did I even do? Honestly, I’ve only done the right thing.’
“Probably because of the surgery you performed before you left for Busan.”
So Jae-gyeong’s answer came as a surprise.
“Why would that be an issue?”
The patient had consented, and the surgery absolutely had to be done that day.
“That was unavoidable circumstance.”
“I understand that, of course, but the Vice Director might not see it that way.”
Beom-jun scratched the back of his head vigorously.
“Damn it, they’re being a nuisance again.”
Beom-jun made a sound from deep in his throat like a large animal, a low, murky growl of irritation.
Yet seeing Beom-jun like this, Jae-gyeong showed no fear. He held confidence that this anger wasn’t directed at him.
As Beom-jun thought of the Vice Director, his brow furrowed, but he didn’t imagine the chairman was involved behind her. He assumed she was simply stirring up the board for no good reason.
“It might be wise for you to lie low for a while. These situations call for discretion.”
“I’m always discreet. How careful I am.”
Beom-jun spoke playfully, wrapping his arms around himself as if to say, ‘Who, me?’
“What? Sir, you’re…not careful at all.”
Flustered, Jae-gyeong trailed off, and Beom-jun shrugged his shoulders.
In fact, during his business trip, Beom-jun had discovered a high-priority patient admitted to the hospital. A patient he could use Jason’s research on.
[A Main Quest has been generated.]
[Main Quest: Open a New Door]
Introduce the Jason Therapy to Korean University Hospital through proper procedures.
Reward: Survival probability +3%
Failure: Death
A quest window appeared next to the computer monitor as if it had been waiting. Beom-jun compared the status window with the patient information displayed in the Hospital Information System.
– Kim Gang-woo / 14 years old / ER-07
– Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
The patient from the next episode had already arrived at the Emergency Room.
Unfortunately, there was no time to be cautious. A new quest had just appeared.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————