Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 62

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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 62.
Beom-jun logged into HIS and opened Messenger. There were messages from Min Jung-sik again today.
In accordance with Min Jung-sik’s preference to move quietly, Beom-jun maintained contact with him through Messenger.
‘My decision to stand with Director Im will eventually become clear with time. I believe there’s nothing to gain from exposing it suddenly.’
Min Jung-sik was right. There was no point in handing ammunition to the opposition. Besides, once he was registered as a collaborator, he wasn’t going to have a change of heart.
Beom-jun followed his advice.
After registering Min Jung-sik as a collaborator, Beom-jun discovered that the Medical Rights Association only accepted physicians as members—that it claimed to advocate for doctors’ rights.
It was a place that dressed up nonsense in plausible language: guarantee physicians’ rights and they’d treat patients.
But the price for obtaining that information fell squarely on Min Jung-sik’s shoulders.
‘That sounds good. I’ll keep in touch through Messenger for now.’
And so Min Jung-sik secretly transmitted information to Beom-jun.
— Until recently, I’ve been relaying the board’s opinions to the IRB on the Vice Director’s instructions. As you know, there are so many ongoing studies at Korean University Hospital that we simply can’t support every field. I agree that not everything can be approved.
He said he’d subtly blocked research through the IRB committee that would have eaten into the hospital’s finances.
A hospital had three missions: patient care, medical research, and professional education. Korean University Hospital was currently tilted far too heavily toward research.
‘Enough research already—focus on treating patients! Good grief, what are all these doctors doing, just sitting around?’
There were physicians like Im Sung-hyuk who wore themselves out seeing patients all day, but there were plenty of others who didn’t.
Even if ten thousand new doctors appeared every year, it made no difference. There simply weren’t enough doctors treating critical patients.
Beom-jun’s grip tightened on the mouse. How much better it would be if there were five doctors like Im Sung-hyuk, or even just one more.
He exhaled slowly, making an effort to settle his mind.
Yes, everyone had their own calling. It was all research in service of treatment, or so he had to believe for now.
Beom-jun sent a reply to Min Jung-sik.
— How is Professor Im Sung-hyuk’s IRB application progressing?
— It’s under review. The Vice Director is pushing hard. It’s unlikely to be approved in one go. The next review is in a week. Let’s aim for that opportunity.
A week, then. Beom-jun paused mid-message and drew his hand across his lips. His mind raced as he measured the time ahead.
The sooner approval came, the better, but there was no need to rush things carelessly.
This quest, after all, was about introducing Jason Therapy to Korean University Hospital through proper channels. It was better to minimize anything that could be criticized.
But before telling Min Jung-sik to proceed that way, Beom-jun logged back into HIS. He needed to check on the condition of his patient, Kang Woo.
He scanned through Kang Woo’s medical records, reviewing the treatment course so far.
His index finger scrolled down the mouse while his eyes darted rapidly left and right, skimming through the vast volume of medical records.
It was a practiced, skillful motion—the routine of someone who’d done this for years. After all, during his tenure as a professor, he’d seen dozens of patients in a single day.
After arriving at the emergency room, Kang Woo had been referred to Thoracic Surgery and assigned to Im Sung-hyuk.
Beom-jun noted that Kang Woo had begun medication while waiting for ASA.
An opinion sent by Cardiology professor Kang Se-ra.
A record of a failed Psychiatry consultation appointment.
And the most recent test results.
‘Hmm, not bad. Symptoms are holding steady. It’s not an emergency.’
At least there had been no syncope since the emergency room visit. Even if not a cure, it was a sign that medication was controlling the symptoms.
Beom-jun tapped out a message on the keyboard and sent a firm reply to Min Jung-sik.
— That sounds best. Moving quietly will definitely be preferable.
— Understood. I’ll prepare everything for the review in a week. For your information, the entire IRB committee has reviewed this positively, so you needn’t worry about the outcome.
With Min Jung-sik’s final message, Beom-jun closed Messenger. He had sharpened his blade; now he would wait for the moment to strike.
* * *
The Vice Director was finding work enjoyable these days. She’d never thought coming to the office could be this fun.
“Yes, this is it. This is how it should be.”
She occasionally murmured to herself with satisfaction.
Now that her views aligned with the Chairman’s, she felt as though she had powerful backing.
‘The Chairman was thinking all along! He couldn’t possibly not know what Director Choi is doing.’
Right—the hospital director could be replaced. Director Choi’s position had been created that way.
“Vice Director, did something good happen?”
For the first time in a while, she had attorney An Jun-mo and accountant Park Ha-rin with her. She’d called them after saying she had good news.
The three gathered in the Vice Director’s Office with drip coffee and premium biscuits.
The Canadian confection, which had supposedly been supplied to the White House, was studded with nuts and dried fruit—not too sweet, the kind you kept reaching for.
— Crunch, crunch
Ha-rin broke the biscuit with her front teeth, focused on the taste. Since she was naturally quiet, Jun-mo filled the audio space with chatter.
“Wow, these really are delicious, aren’t they? When you’re around the Vice Director, even your mouth gets to have fun. Ha ha ha.”
As Jun-mo spoke, the Vice Director’s mood improved further, and she grinned as she told them both the news.
“First, this stays between us—the director’s position is going to change soon.”
She brought her index finger to her lips, presenting it as privileged information.
“What??”
— …crunch, crunch, crunch, crackle
Unlike Jun-mo, who exaggerated with dramatic overaction, Ha-rin’s expression barely changed. She kept her eyes wide and continued chewing the biscuit.
“So Director Choi was anxious after all—and now it’s come to this.”
“Really? Has he done something wrong?”
And Ha-rin spoke as if she knew nothing about the director.
Jun-mo quickly replied to Ha-rin’s comment.
“A lot! He’s been doing whatever he wants, causing all kinds of trouble. When coordinating with the Ministry of Defense, he makes decisions alone! How much work gets botched because the director acts that way?”
“Ah, the Ministry of Defense.”
At Jun-mo’s words, Ha-rin nodded quietly.
“You mean the 13.8 billion budget we received then? Well, it’s not common for a director to bring in funding like that.”
The numbers-savvy woman had committed the budget Beom-jun had secured to memory precisely.
“That’s not even all of it. There’s more to complain about. Now he says he wants to apply some new treatment to a patient. And it’s a therapy developed by Cheon Hee University Hospital!”
“That’s insane. Why serve porridge only to feed it to dogs?”
Jun-mo and the Vice Director were on the same wavelength. But unlike Jun-mo, who agreed with the Vice Director unconditionally, Ha-rin paid attention to the substance.
‘So there’s a recently developed treatment? What does Cheon Hee University Hospital have to do with anything?’
— Crunch, crunch
As Ha-rin ate her biscuit, Jun-mo and the Vice Director kept trading remarks.
“That’s my point. He’ll say it’s for the patient, blah blah blah. But hospital procedures—does ignoring all of them make sense just to save one patient?”
“No, it doesn’t. There’s a reason procedures exist. They protect doctors.”
“He thinks too narrowly. He’ll learn some sense once he faces a malpractice lawsuit. Anyway, he lacks perspective.”
A smirk played at the Vice Director’s lips. As if she knew everything. Her gaze, looking down from above, was full of arrogance.
She believed Sung-hyuk would use the treatment for his patient’s sake. With his stubborn nature, there was no way she’d let him do it quietly.
‘Let him use an unapproved treatment. Not this time—I won’t let it slide.’
The Vice Director was lying in wait for Sung-hyuk to use the new treatment.
— Crackle, crackle, crackle
But Ha-rin just kept chewing her biscuit.
In the momentary silence, the sound grew louder.
Though she seemed uninvested in the conversation, the Vice Director addressed her warmly.
“…Ha-rin seems to like these. I’ll pack some for you to take when you leave.”
“Thank you, Vice Director.”
Out of affection built up over time, the Vice Director took good care of Ha-rin.
Ha-rin didn’t dislike the Vice Director either. She seemed a bit tense lately, but that was probably because the director caused so much trouble.
* * *
Time passed quickly. A week had gone by.
Beom-jun started his workday checking a message from Min Jung-sik.
He didn’t delegate to subordinates; instead, he handled everything personally and reported directly. He said he couldn’t trust his staff.
He shared the progress and proposed next steps, taking full responsibility for the IRB work.
Though Beom-jun valued Jae-gyeong, in work terms, he couldn’t compare Jae-gyeong to Min Jung-sik. Honestly, even putting them on the same scale felt unfair.
It was like the difference between Im Sung-hyuk and Min Ho as physicians.
— Director, the IRB review is complete. You can check the details whenever. The treatment can be applied right away. Professor Im Sung-hyuk should have received personal notice as well.
He delivered the good news without elaboration—just speaking what was necessary. The treatment to be used on Kang Woo had been approved.
“Jae-gyeong, where is the Vice Director right now?”
“She has no special appointments today. At this hour, she should be in the Vice Director’s Office.”
Jae-gyeong, who had nothing particular to contribute to this matter, answered briskly. He was still absorbed in managing the Ministry of Defense budget. He said the scale was so large that distributing funds was no simple task.
“Tell the Vice Director I’m on my way.”
“Oh, yes. Should I say what it’s about?”
Jae-gyeong sounded confused. Beom-jun had never sought out the Vice Director before.
“It’s been approved, so we should share this joyful news. Hehe.”
“Understood! I’ll contact her right away.”
A clear brightness shone from Beom-jun’s eyes. He grinned widely, teeth showing, looking genuinely happy—but Jae-gyeong felt a chill run down his spine.
After Jae-gyeong left to make the call, Beom-jun rolled his eyes and opened his inventory.
Inside lay one item he’d been holding onto for a long time. It was the reward from the first Hidden Quest, received when Sung-hyuk’s Favorability had hit maximum.
‘I still haven’t used this.’
[Name: Reset Tissue
Property: Deletes the target’s Hostility.
Remaining Uses: 1]

He’d forgotten about it while deliberating over who to use it on. To use it on the Vice Director… well, truthfully, he hadn’t felt inclined. He’d hoped a better target would appear.
But in Korean University Hospital, no one harbored more Hostility toward the director than Vice Director Gu Hee-jung.
Not everyone stood in the director’s camp, but they all moved according to individual conviction and necessity.
Only the Vice Director harbored such particular hatred for Beom-jun,
and that hatred had spawned greater hatred, deepening the rift of emotion. Watching the unreachable tree of hospital director, she festered.
‘Honestly, is it my fault you couldn’t become director? Didn’t you just need someone to hate?’
The Vice Director probably knew this too. That it wasn’t Beom-jun’s fault. She was just pretending not to notice, or turning away from it.
Beom-jun picked up the Reset Tissue. At first glance, it was just an ordinary piece of tissue paper.
He turned the tissue over in his palm, then let out a shallow sigh.
“Sigh.”
In “Doctor X,” the Vice Director was the one who murders director Choi Beom-jun. If her Hostility simply disappeared, wouldn’t the probability of that murder occurring decrease?
— Knock, knock
Just then, Jae-gyeong knocked and entered the director’s office.
“Director, the Vice Director’s Office says they’re ready. You can come right over.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Beom-jun rose from the black leather sofa. In his hand lay what appeared to be an ordinary sheet of tissue paper.

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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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