Episode 3
Someone I want to emulate.
After the surgery, I ran into my senior voice actor as I was leaving the operating room.
"Hey Boryeol Boryeol~ How was the surgery?"
"What... I'll do it... Teacher Kang did it all..."
"Teacher Kang?? Kang Daniel?"
"yes"
"Did you have surgery with Kang Daniel??"
"yes"
"Oh... how was it? It was serious, wasn't it?"
"Yes. You know?"
"Of course, I went to the same school as Kang Daniel.. haha"
"Seoul National University?"
"huh"
"So, are you close with Mr. Kang?"
"Um... no... she's just someone who doesn't have a social life. When she was in college, she never went to drinking parties, welcome parties, or anything like that. She didn't even go to company outings. Haha. At first, people kept telling her to come, but she didn't listen, so I gave up.."
"Oh... Is it still like that?"
"Uh. He originally hated being around other people, and since he's a skilled surgeon, he practically lives in the operating room..."
"hmm..."
The moment I heard that from my senior voice actor, I remembered how I had unintentionally disturbed Mr. Kang while he was resting on his chair before, and I felt a little sorry.
'You must have been in the operating room back then... It must have been hard...?'
As I was thinking to myself, the senior in front of me smiled again and spoke.
"Those kids are the ones who have their own world. They're a little different from us, geniuses... you could say? It's hard to understand... haha. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't have been that hard if I had surgery with him, right? He's really neat and good at it."
"That's right. It was better than I thought. Haha"
"But, Boram. It's going to get harder from here on out, so be prepared."
"Huh?"
Actually, what I'm best at is patience.
I can endure boredom, annoyance, anger, discomfort, and hardship... I can endure it the best.
"They say he practically lives in the operating room."
Mr. Kang was that kind of person. A person with outstanding abilities who works hard. A person with outstanding abilities who works hard. A person who is already recognized by many people and yet remains consistent.
He was no longer just another elevator owner to me. He was a great teacher, someone I could emulate.
One year later.
I'm already in my first year of residency. It's the busiest time of the year.
As the voice actor senior said, there really are a lot of surgeries, and as I expected, I'm holding up well.
Mr. Kang was still nowhere to be seen, and I haven't seen him much lately.
Yesterday morning, a female student came to our hospital.
He tried to commit suicide by jumping off the veranda, but luckily he didn't die when he got caught on a tree while falling, but he hurt his back and ended up in the hospital, and I was the child's doctor.
It wasn't a difficult surgery so it was over quickly, but I was worried since yesterday because the child didn't wake up.
This morning, while I was making rounds, I saw that child, Hyein, awake.
"Hey, Hyein, you're awake? Are you feeling better?"
"..."
There was no answer.
"Hyein fell and luckily got caught in a tree and survived, but she hurt her back so the doctors had to operate on her. Now that she's awake, she needs to rest, recover, and do some rehabilitation exercises~"
"..."
The boy didn't even listen to what I said. Still, I stubbornly continued.
"Hyein, why did you do that there? You're making everyone worry..."
"Are you worried?"
I was a little surprised by the sudden answer. But the tone of his voice was unusual.
"Who cares? Are you talking about family? Those people, they wouldn't even blink an eye if I died?"
"Hyein, your parents came yesterday and were very worried."
"That's right, Shojo. There are doctors here, so of course they pretend to be worried."
"Hyein, still..."
"I'm going out. I don't want to see you all!"
"Okay, if anything happens, press that button~"
Kicked out...kicked out. This...kicked out...right? That's right. Kicked out.
This was my first year as a resident. It wasn't going to be easy.
What should I do with that child...?
"under......"
A sigh escaped me.
"The ground is going to collapse... What's going on?"
"Oh, senior."
Now that I think about it, I seem to run into my senior voice actor quite often.
My senior voice actor was also a neurosurgeon, so it wasn't that strange.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, I just had back surgery... I can't even hold a conversation..."
"why?"
"I wonder what happened. This time, he got hurt and tried to commit suicide."
"Ah... First-year residents get to see all kinds of patients... Haha. Those kinds of patients are the hardest to deal with... because they don't open up."
"Heart...is it?"
"Yeah. To have a conversation with those kids, you have to open your heart. And you have to talk. Those kids... If you discharge them saying they've recovered, most of them come back in the same way. You don't know if they'll come back alive or dead..."
"Ah... ha... what should I do.."
"If it's difficult, call a psychiatrist. That'll be the best way."
"No, I'll try. It's my patient, so I want to take responsibility."
"Okay, try it. Just don't use too much strength."
"yes"
I decided to open that child's closed heart.
It started the day I made up my mind. My obsession, not my obsession.
From that day on, I visited that hospital room twice a day, even during my busy schedule. And I kept talking to him.
"Hyein, are you feeling less sore today?"
"Hyein, how are you feeling today?"
"Hyein, do you want the teacher to buy you some chocolate?"
"Hyein, do you want to go eat ice cream with the teacher?"
"Hyein-ah...."
Even though I kept saying that, my words always ended quietly.
It's been a week since I started doing that.
Finally, I heard an answer that wasn't just a single word.
"Teacher, are you free? You're so persistent..."
I felt a surge of anger for a moment, but I held it in. As I said before, holding it in is what I'm best at, so I thought of it as a donation of my talent.
And on the morning of the tenth day, as usual, I walked to the child's hospital room. Unlike usual, a male doctor arrived there before me. I saw him through the window and waited outside the room for him to emerge.
After about five minutes, footsteps were heard and the door opened.
"uh?!"
It was Mr. Kang. Why... was the teacher here?
I looked up with a blank expression in bewilderment, and Mr. Kang nodded and disappeared again.
Where on earth are they going? Is there a secret passage to the hospital?
I went into the hospital room right after Professor Kang disappeared.
Hyein was awake.
"Hyein, how are you feeling today?"
"great."
Answer... did. Hyein, the girl who had been silent, answered what I said.
"I see. Is there anything you want to do or eat?"
I didn't miss the opportunity and tried to have a longer conversation.
"I want to eat chocolate and ice cream. The teacher said he would buy me some before."
I was able to have a conversation with the child. Moreover, Hyein's eyes looked very pretty as she spoke to me.
"Okay, shall we go eat with the teacher?"
"great."
Hyein and I left the hospital room for the first time.
Perhaps because she had been lying down for so long, the area where she had surgery should be fine now, but Hyein's gait was awkward, so she walked slowly to the store.
"Would you like to eat this?"
"Okay, let's eat that~"
Hyein and I sat on a bench and ate the ice cream and chocolate we picked out at the store.
It felt sweeter today.
After dropping Hyein back at the hospital room, I searched for Dr. Kang. While searching diligently, I met my senior, Seongwoo.
"What are you looking for??"
"It's not something, it's a person, Mr. Kang. Do you happen to know where he is?"
"It's either an operating room or a lab, right? But why all of a sudden?"
"That kid, I talked to him!"
"Really? How?"
"I'll find out. See you later!"
"Hey! Even if I go to the lab, you won't meet me~!"
"You'll know when you go!"
I left my senior voice actor behind and ran to Professor Kang's lab.
-dripping-
"Who are you?"
Fortunately, he was inside. He didn't ask me to open the door, but I could only hear voices from inside the room.
"I... am a first-year resident... . ...
"What's going on?"
"Uh, I have something to ask."
"I don't meet anyone privately."
"No, it's nothing personal. It's about the hospital. There's something I really want to ask you!"
".. ..... ."
Mr. Kang spoke after a short pause.
"Come in"
Phew... I really thought I was going to get rejected.
If I tell this fact to my senior voice actor, he'll be shocked, right?
I took a deep breath and entered the lab.
"Hello. My name is Jeong-e Bo-ram."
"I know. What do you want to ask?"
As expected, he's a sharp-tongued man. He's asking questions with a tone that's short and sharp, and only asks the question on the spot.
"That kid in room 501. What happened to him? He left this morning... He's changed since then."
"Oh, that kid who was trying to commit suicide? Did he open his heart?"
"yes yes.."
"Are you curious? How did I do it...?"
What does that smile mean...? Mr. Kang smiled at me.
"Yes. I want to know. How did you do it, teacher?"