Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 6

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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 6.
Beom Jun entered the room without hesitation. He’d tried to arrange his face into a gentle smile, but then remembered how he looked and thought better of it.
“I see you were resting.”
Instead, he met the eyes of the two people inside with measured composure.
The Residents, who’d been half-asleep, startled at the sudden arrival of an outsider, but quickly noticed the title embroidered on Beom Jun’s White Jacket.
“Oh? Who are you…?”
“Oh! I’m so sorry. We didn’t realize.”
Beom Jun surveyed the interior. The sparse room held two bunk beds and a table crowded with empty cans—nothing but coffee and energy drinks.
Facing the two frozen figures, Beom Jun searched for something to say.
How to raise Favorability and register him as talent. Min Ho, whose eyes were hollow with dark circles, looked as if he’d just woken up, his hair disheveled.
Then a new Status Window appeared before Beom Jun.
[Detailed information has been added by observing the talent.]
– Detailed Information: 33 hours into shift.
– Work Fatigue: MAX
– Desire to Quit: Strong
[A state of living without truly living. Falls asleep instantly whenever his head touches anything. Could walk out of Korea University Hospital at any moment.]
‘Walk out? Not a chance. You’re mine starting today.’
“You look tired. You must be working hard.”
“No, sir, I’m fine!”
Though Beom Jun had simply inquired about his well-being, Min Ho vehemently denied it despite his face screaming exhaustion.
Somewhere along the way, he’d straightened his posture and was sitting at attention. Right—medical hierarchies were all the same regardless of which university you graduated from.
“That so? Then, shall we talk for a moment?”
“Us, sir?”
“No, you. Resident Min Ho.”
Beom Jun indicated the doctor whose information had appeared in the Status Window. Min Ho rolled his eyes nervously, wondering what the Director might say.
* * *
“Snoooore…”
Min Ho was asleep on the couch in the Director’s Office. Beom Jun, having heard the sound from outside the door, stood watching him.
‘Perfect. Just as I expected.’
Beom Jun had his secretary prepare warm tea instead of coffee.
After chatting briefly with Min Ho and sharing some bread, the moment the Status Window appeared, he stepped out of the Director’s Office as if answering a call.
[Min Ho’s Favorability has increased by 1.]
As Min Ho’s physiological needs were met, his Favorability rose. Well, at 33 hours into a shift, eating and sleeping would naturally be the priority.
A plush sofa in a quiet space with no one else around. Plus, he’d left the On-call Phone with a colleague, so there’d be no calls coming in.
Min Ho dozed off and eventually passed out completely, while Beom Jun, without waking him, settled at the desk behind the couch.
He signed off on documents that came across his desk, fulfilling his role as a human rubber stamp for the work the Deputy Director had already processed.
Then, at the small sound of him turning a page, Min Ho startled awake.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“I didn’t wake you on purpose. Are you that tired?”
Beom Jun dismissed his own concerns and worried about him instead. Just then, a Status Window appeared.
[Min Ho’s Favorability has increased by 1.]
Once for sharing bread, and again after sleeping—his Favorability had already climbed by 2 from just a little bit of kindness. It was almost ridiculous. Also kind of cute.
Min Ho rose from the Director’s Office couch, blinking his eyes open. A mere Resident, and he’d fallen asleep right here in the Director’s Office—he should be grateful just for that.
Min Ho, awake for two days straight, couldn’t even remember sleeping properly before that. But seeing Im Sung Hyuk every day had cultivated a self-doubt that hadn’t been there before.
“Your Residency is almost finished, isn’t it?”
Beom Jun said this to him. Given that his title indicated he was a 3rd-year Resident, completion was close at hand.
“I heard you handled a Code Blue well before? You saved the patient too.”
He wasn’t actually speaking from knowledge. But any Resident should have experienced something like that at least once.
“Yes, that’s right. You mean Patient Kim Young Hee? She’s recovered quite a bit and was transferred from the ICU to the General Ward yesterday.”
Ah, so that’s it. Lucky guess. Beom Jun pretended to know more than he did.
“…Right. That patient. I’ve had my eye on her.”
And he began unveiling the prepared pitch—much like recommending graduate school to a college graduate.
“Do you have plans after completing your Residency?”
First, he needed to know if Min Ho had something he wanted to do, or if he was simply exhausted from work. Based on the Status Window he’d seen, Min Ho was on the verge of giving up on Korea University Hospital.
Beom Jun smiled gently at him. But his sharp eyes made it look more like a threat.
“Well…”
Min Ho seemed to sense what the Director was getting at.
“How about a Fellowship? I think a Subspecialty would suit you well.”
Thoracic Surgery divides into three Subspecialties: Adult, Pediatric, and General.
Adult and Pediatric are distinguished by the patient’s age, though congenital conditions are treated as Pediatric Cardiac Surgery even in adults. General covers the lungs and esophagus, aorta, and diaphragm apart from the heart.
Unlike Residents, who learn broadly across all fields, Fellows dig deep and narrow into one Subspecialty. Im Sung Hyuk covered the Adult division while also managing congenital conditions.
‘With that level of skill, the Subspecialty wouldn’t matter.’
But Min Ho seemed taken aback by Beom Jun’s suggestion. Once a Residency ended, there was no major obstacle to earning a living at a small provincial hospital. Working cosmetic procedures at a clinic, he’d easily make seven or eight hundred thousand won a month.
Truthfully, it was only because Korea University Hospital was a major institution that the Thoracic Surgery position was filled. At any other hospital, you’d struggle to even see a Thoracic Surgery Resident.
“Why did you apply to Thoracic Surgery in the first place? You must have known it wouldn’t be easy.”
Beom Jun asked Min Ho, who hadn’t answered.
It was to awaken the feelings he’d had when he first started. At Beom Jun’s question, Min Ho shut his eyes tight and spoke slowly.
“I had a younger sister who died when she was little. It was from a genetic disorder. So I wanted to learn about it.”
It happened often enough—people becoming doctors because of family.
For a child of poverty to become a dragon, there had to be a catalyst like that.
And unlike himself, who’d scraped together decent scores and entered a decent department, this kind of doctor had a light about them. Though it might be buried in dust right now.
“That’s it, then. You’ll be a good doctor. I can see the quality in you.”
At his words, Min Ho seemed momentarily stunned, and his eyes glistened.
He’d said the same thing to juniors often when he was a professor, but the weight of saying it now as hospital director felt entirely different.
“Yes, thank you.”
As Min Ho bowed and spoke, a Status Window floated above his head.
[Min Ho’s Favorability has increased by 1.]
‘Hmm, one more left.’
Beom Jun recalled one of Min Ho’s traits from the earlier Status Window. He had a strong desire for growth, didn’t he? Then he’d probably seen Im Sung Hyuk during his training.
“Come to think of it, in Thoracic Surgery
(Thoracic Surgery)
you’d be under Professor Im.”
When Beom Jun broached the subject, Min Ho flinched.
“Under… not exactly. He probably wouldn’t even know who I am.”
Just the mention of Im Sung Hyuk’s name made Min Ho’s eyelashes quiver as he spoke.
Understood. Beom Jun now knew how to raise the remaining Favorability. He called Im Sung Hyuk.
“Hey, Professor Im. You free right now? Not busy, I hope?”
* * *
Honestly, he’d expected Im Sung Hyuk not to come. He would’ve been fine even if he’d been harshly rebuffed.
The whole plan was to appear close to Im Sung Hyuk in order to recruit Min Ho.
Even if rebuffed harshly, simply letting Min Ho see him on a call with Im Sung Hyuk would’ve been enough.
“You called for me, Director?”
Yet here Im Sung Hyuk stood before him—the same Im Sung Hyuk who’d stormed out of the Director’s Office just days before. His Favorability had clearly risen, yet his characteristic sullen expression remained.
Before him, Min Ho squirmed like a puppy needing to go outside. Im Sung Hyuk gave him a quick once-over and spoke without emotion.
“I think I know you?”
“Oh yes, sir! Hello, Professor. I’m Min Ho, a 3rd-year Resident in Thoracic Surgery.”
Min Ho introduced himself belatedly, flustered. Woken from sleep and summoned to the Director’s Office, now meeting the professor he admired in a private setting—of course he was bewildered.
But Im Sung Hyuk showed no interest in Min Ho whatsoever.
“Ah, I see.”
With no other words to offer, Min Ho sweated nervously, trying to keep the conversation from dying.
‘Still, he’s my junior. Shouldn’t the same department look out for each other?’
Beom Jun felt bad for Min Ho. Before becoming possessed by Doctor X, he’d been chewed out by the Director plenty, but he’d always taken care of his own people.
“So what did you need to see me about?”
But Im Sung Hyuk looked at Beom Jun and asked without the slightest change of expression.
Ah, right. He’d recalled that Im Sung Hyuk kept no one nearby except one Fellow and one PA nurse.
Immensely skilled, he despised incompetent doctors unlike himself. He was always saying that incompetent people should have their medical licenses revoked. That there were plenty of fakes out there with only the name “doctor.”
“I found promising talent in Thoracic Surgery. Wanted to introduce him to you, Professor Im.”
“This person here?”
At the Director’s words, Im Sung Hyuk scrutinized Min Ho as if doubting his own eyes. Beom Jun compared the abilities of Im Sung Hyuk and Min Ho.
[Name: Im Sung Hyuk / Position: Professor]
Patient Interview: ■■□□□
Examination: ■■■□□
Diagnosis: ■■■■■
Treatment: ■■■■■
Follow-up: ■■■■□
Im Sung Hyuk had high stats across the board, but they were concentrated particularly on Diagnosis and Treatment.
[Name: Min Ho / Position: 3rd-Year Resident]
Patient Interview: ■■■□□
Examination: ■■■■□
Diagnosis: ■■■■□
Treatment: ■■□□□
Follow-up: ■■■□□
Min Ho, on the other hand, excelled in Patient Interview and Examination. The kind who discovered diseases through screening and early diagnosis.
Regardless of the medical specialty, the process of treating illness was the same.
Discovering the disease through examination, understanding the condition, treating it, and then confirming the treatment worked.
Im Sung Hyuk’s primary strength lay in actively intervening once a disease appeared and treating it.
There was nothing better than this for a professor working at a hospital. Thoracic Surgery as a specialty was perfectly suited for it. Once internal medicine could no longer treat a patient, they’d be transferred to him to perform high-difficulty surgery.
‘But that doesn’t mean early disease diagnosis is nothing.’
Cutting off illness at the root before it caused the patient great suffering was a tremendous thing.
“You seem to have been on call a few days ago.”
Im Sung Hyuk scrutinized Min Ho and spoke. Right, after three years, he should at least recognize the face.
“Oh, that day was actually… my rest day after being on call the previous night. But the patient’s condition was unstable, so I stayed at the hospital anyway.”
Min Ho fidgeted with his hands as he spoke, his eyes dropping to the floor, his words trailing off into nothing.
‘Did he make some kind of mistake?’
Im Sung Hyuk and Min Ho were discussing something Beom Jun didn’t know about, and the atmosphere didn’t seem very good.
“Your recent patient was Kim Young Hee, right?”
Beom Jun steered the conversation back by bringing up the case Min Ho had excelled with. He’d said he’d handled the Code Blue well, so there should be something to discuss.
“Yes, that’s right. We spotted PVCs on the EKG before Atrial Fibrillation developed, so fortunately we were able to take action quickly.”
At his words, Min Ho’s slumped shoulders straightened a little.
“Ah, that patient…”
At that moment, something flickered in Im Sung Hyuk’s eyes.

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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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