Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 63

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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 63.
The Vice Director’s Office was far more charming than Beom-jun had expected on his first visit.
Unlike the Director’s Office with its dark-toned interior, this space felt warmer—maybe it was all the potted plants and natural wood furniture.
The desk was crowded with cute trinkets, including a cat figurine.
‘Doesn’t suit her at all.’
The Vice Director sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, her short, stocky limbs looking as if they might come undone at a touch.
“You came? Really, if you were going to show up like that, why call ahead…?”
She trailed off as she spoke, her tone making it clear she was no stranger to the IRB approval. The stiff way she greeted him suggested she knew exactly what had happened.
All the better. This would move faster.
“Thanks to your help, the IRB approval went through smoothly. I’m grateful for the information.”
Beom-jun spoke to her with a hint of mockery, and she made no effort to hide her irritation that her carefully laid plans had come to nothing.
“Ha, shameless. When did you butter up Min? That stubborn bureaucrat!”
Watching her sharp-tongued side for the first time in a while, Beom-jun couldn’t help but laugh.
Right—she’d been playing house for a moment. She was the type to express exactly what she felt watching Doctor X, rude but incapable of hiding her emotions.
Or rather, not incapable—simply unwilling. What reason would she have to be circumspect in a place like University Hospital, which was practically her own kingdom?
“Are you referring to Min Jeong-sik?”
Truth be told, Beom-jun flinched at her words. He’d moved carefully to stay under the radar, yet she’d pinpointed Min Jeong-sik immediately. She certainly had good instincts.
“Ah, yes. He oversees the IRB as well, doesn’t he? What was Min supposed to have done?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. If not for Min, how else would you have gotten through the IRB? There’s no other way.”
Even as Beom-jun played innocent, the Vice Director was nearly certain of her conclusion.
“You with your silver tongue—you’ve done it again, haven’t you!”
The Vice Director jabbed her index finger at Beom-jun’s face, and he simply shrugged, spreading both palms upward.
Even if her suspicions were accurate, she wouldn’t dare take this conversation elsewhere. She had no proof, and the last thing she needed was to be branded a rumor-monger.
“You should have treated the staff better from the start. Or actually, no—maybe you should go into the mountains right now and earn some spiritual merit.”
Beom-jun shook his head with an air of regret.
What Min Jeong-sik had told him about the Vice Director’s usual behavior wasn’t far different from what he’d seen in Doctor X.
‘After the Vice Director took office, I was attached to her every day. It was necessary—she needed to understand how University Hospital had been operating.
But after the handover, I never saw her again. The contact simply stopped.
My term as director was expiring in the meantime, and I went through a lot of trouble extending it.’
Give and take—that’s how things work.
What trust could she expect when all she did was use her subordinates and throw them away?
‘She squeezed Min dry and discarded him. Then she tried to push him around with force—no wonder everyone’s abandoning her.’
The Vice Director was certainly deficient in interpersonal skills. She did her job well enough, but she couldn’t manage people to save her life.
“Ha, what do you think you are? You’re the real problem at University Hospital right now. Do you understand?”
“I’m not sure I follow. In what way do you see it that way?”
Beom-jun wasn’t bothered by her words. They simply weren’t true.
He responded calmly, and the more composed he was, the more heated she became.
“Why?! Well, it’s… it’s…!”
And she couldn’t answer his question. If she searched hard for reasons to hate him, she’d find precious few. She’d despised him for doing his job poorly—but the current Beom-jun was nothing of the sort.
As Hospital Director, he was competent, and his accomplishments were objectively noteworthy.
The Vice Director’s irritation began to falter.
“Anyone in that position should be doing this much. Don’t brag about doing what a director is supposed to do!!”
Beom-jun’s brow furrowed as he listened. This held a grain of truth.
Before Ui-jin had possessed him, the original Beom-jun’s work performance had been abysmal. Low expectations meant high results looked exceptional.
Noting his hesitation, the Vice Director surged forward with renewed confidence, her short index finger jabbing the air.
“If you don’t know something, at least have the humility to learn. You can’t see what’s in front of your eyes? I’ve been here for ten years. Ten years! If you absorbed just a fraction of what I know about how University Hospital operates, half your tenure would be justified.”
On the surface, it was sound reasoning. But Beom-jun didn’t relent.
“How much longer will you cling to internal standards? That’s precisely why University Hospital makes no progress.”
“No progress? Of course there’s progress. Just maintaining something this size is an achievement! Do you think a hospital like University Hospital changes overnight?”
At her words, Beom-jun narrowed his eyes with a slight smile.
“The top five hospital brand rankings came out last week, didn’t they?”
University Hospital’s medical technology was universally acknowledged as the nation’s best, but its image was another matter entirely.
Customer Service rankings came in dead last every year. Post-treatment patient satisfaction placed it fifth among the five hospitals.
Historically, University Hospital had given this little thought—patients understood it was an unavoidable trade-off for superior physician skill.
But this time, University Hospital had climbed to third place overall in brand reputation.
— University Hospital’s CS ranking rises for the first time in 17 years…
— University Hospital brand reputation jumps two positions.
— Director Beom-jun emerges as driving force…
The media had identified Director Beom-jun as the reason. All those viral videos and coverage of famous patient cases had paid off.
“…I don’t know anything about that.”
As the unfavorable news came up, the Vice Director disavowed it. She couldn’t possibly be ignorant of external news about University Hospital.
“Then allow me to inform you. This time, we ranked third nationally in overall brand reputation. First time in seventeen years.”
……
She didn’t like hearing that University Hospital’s ranking had improved. Every accomplishment of Beom-jun’s felt like a negation of her own worth.
“Why that face? It’s good news for University Hospital.”
“Ha, what are you talking about?! Who doesn’t know it’s good news.”
She denied it while unable to smooth the sour expression from her face.
“Does anyone say the only right way is your way? Is that what the Chairman says?”
“Why are you bringing the Chairman into this!”
The Vice Director sputtered, but her words grew fewer and farther between.
By now she must have realized she had neither grounds nor justification to fault him further.
Only emotion remained; the rationale had evaporated.
Previous directors had floundered within the frame of ‘incompetent,’ but Beom-jun had already broken free from it entirely.
“What you’re doing now is forced, and you know it.”
Beom-jun, who had been standing, sat down across from her.
The soft fabric sofa enfolded his body.
Executive offices typically featured black leather sofas—partly for durability, but largely from sheer convention.
The Vice Director’s office, by contrast, was quite colorful. The care she’d taken in decorating it spoke to a deep attachment to University Hospital, even if her approach toward Beom-jun was crooked and at odds.
“What is the real issue? Unless the law changes, there’s no way a Vice Director becomes Director in Korea.”
“Yes, I know! I know better than anyone there’s no way.”
When Beom-jun touched her Achilles’ heel, the Vice Director’s irritation flared.
With only resentment left, her face flushed, though she seemed to be holding back her anger. With the object of her hatred gone, that rage would turn inward.
Moments later, the bridge of her nose and the corners of her eyes reddened, then faded, and clear liquid began flowing from her nose.
At first glance, it had no viscosity. Not nasal fluid. Tears trickling down through the nasal passage.
‘Tough. A truly difficult woman. So that’s how she made it to hospital director in America.’
Beom-jun sighed and pulled out an item.
[Name: Reset Tissue
Effect: Removes hostility from target.
Remaining uses: 1]
[Use the Reset Tissue on the target. Direct application is also possible.]
Beom-jun handed her the tissue naturally, and a notification window appeared without delay.
[Target confirmed.]
She snatched the tissue and wiped her nose and tears without suspicion.
While she went about it leisurely, Beom-jun’s vision was flooded with notification windows.
[Using Reset Tissue.]
[Removing hostility from Vice Director Gu Hee-jeong.]
The Reset Tissue, dampened by her tears and mucus, began turning transparent from the edges inward.
The Vice Director stared blankly, clutching the tissue fragment in her hand.
Every time he used an item, the target seemed to blank out momentarily. He’d need to be careful if others were around.
Seconds later, the Reset Tissue vanished entirely, and Gu Hee-jeong’s Personnel Information appeared before Beom-jun.
[Name: Gu Hee-jeong / Position: Vice Director]
Management Strategy: ■■■■■
Organizational Operations: ■■■□□
Performance Management: ■■■■■
External Relations: ■■■■□
– Affection: ??
– Hostility: Strong
[Dominant leader. Strong desire to be number one. A natural performer whose work quality is unmatched.]
She was undeniably talented. Half of her competencies maxed out, and the others were solid.
The only concerning element was the character description. ‘Strong desire to be number one’—that was probably why she’d been the antagonist in Doctor X.
As Beom-jun looked away, the word ‘Hostility’ in the Personnel Information began to sway side to side dramatically.
– Hostility: Strong
A strikethrough appeared, erasing the text.
Beom-jun let out a quiet laugh watching her hostility disappear.
The Reset Tissue didn’t simply erase hostility as if it had never existed. It removed the effect while preserving the previous record—a method not unlike a medical chart.
With hostility gone, Gu Hee-jeong’s affection rating, previously marked with a question mark, finally appeared.
– Affection: 0
Zero, huh. Shouldn’t love and hate travel together? Well, he hadn’t expected anything anyway.
[Hidden Quest has opened.]
[Hidden Quest: Turn an enemy’s heart]
Change the heart of one who holds a grudge against Director Beom-jun.
Reward: Survival Probability +7%
[Hidden Quest completed.]
[Beom-jun’s Survival Probability increased by 7%.]
[Current Survival Probability: 53%]
Meanwhile, Gu Hee-jeong blinked with clear eyes, as if a curse had been lifted. Like someone waking from a long, tangled dream.
“You don’t have to say anything—I understand. Really, who said it was your fault? When did I ever say that…?”
She picked up the cat cushion Beom-jun had set aside, speaking as she held it.
She cradled the cushion like a child, her stocky frame curling into a ball, her shoulders rounding with the embrace. Her austere expression melted away, and her features took on a gentler, almost maternal warmth.
[Dominant leader. Strong desire to be number one. A natural performer whose work quality is unmatched.]
The description of her character traits faded to gray.
‘That should do it.’
Beom-jun checked his Survival Probability, now past the halfway mark.
Seven percent for using Reset Tissue on the Vice Director was a decent reward.
Fifty-three percent. Now what remained of his Survival Probability was less than what he’d already gained.

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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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