Chapter 41 – New Chief of Surgery, Heo Jeong-tae (2)

‘What? Is he trying to go out today too? At this rate, when on earth does he work?’

By now, all of Chief Heo Jeong-tae’s actions were suspicious to Ji-hyuk.

“Chief! Where are you going?”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae was taking off his gown and changing his clothes.

“Oh? You’re here? I have an important surgical conference today.”

‘There is no surgical conference today. Because I’ve already checked the entire schedule. Who on earth is this person? No matter how much quacks and fake doctors are rampant, this is the National Medical Center, one of the best hospitals in South Korea. It is not a place where a fake doctor can run wild, is it?’

Although something was suspicious, it didn’t make sense to suspect Chief Heo Jeong-tae blindly.

“Chief, aren’t surgical conferences quarterly? I thought there was one next month…”

Ji-hyuk tilted his head.

“How do you know that?”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae smiled as he finished putting on his jacket.

“As a surgeon, I am also interested, so I looked up the materials.”

“Right! Dr. Ji-hyuk, make sure to join me at the next conference. This field isn’t that wide. It will be good to get to know doctors from other hospitals. Since we are already short of doctors, shouldn’t we stick together?”

“You still haven’t answered my question. I thought surgical conferences were quarterly?”

“Hahaha, my friend! Are you worried that I’ll go somewhere to drink using the conference as an excuse?”

Heo Jeong-tae had a relaxed expression.

“It’s not that, but as a subordinate, I need to know my superior’s whereabouts. That way, if an emergency patient arrives, I can contact you, right?”

“Hahaha, right, I’ll tell you. I was about to! It’s a surgical conference sub-committee meeting. The Seoul regional sub-committee meets monthly.”

Heo Jeong-tae made up an excuse without a single change in his expression.

“I see! Then the general surgery professors from Korea University Hospital must be attending too?”

“Huh? O-Of course! Naturally. Since Korea University is hosting it, they will certainly attend.”

“Then please convey my regards to Professor Cho Yong-guk!”

“Hahaha, got it. I’ll convey your regards.”

‘What? Professor Cho Yong-guk of Korea University Hospital has already retired…’

“Ah! But since Professor Cho Yong-guk has already retired, it might be difficult at today’s meeting, and I should greet him separately.”

“……!”

‘Wh-what is this? Was I being too sensitive?’

“Ah! Has Professor Cho Yong-guk retired? I didn’t think he was at the age to retire yet.”

Although flustered, Kim Ji-hyuk glossed it over.

“It seems his chronic illness worsened. Anyway, I’ll be back in the late afternoon, so please look after the hospital. Thanks to you and Dr. Yun-seok lately, I feel very reassured!”

Tap—

As Kim Ji-hyuk hesitated, Heo Jeong-tae smiled warmly and patted him on the shoulder.

It was an expression that seemed to say, ‘You still have a long way to go!’

A moment later, hospital administration department.

Professor Cho Yong-guk.

A professor at Korea University who usually suffered from cerebrovascular disease and had recently folded his medical activities as his symptoms worsened.

Since he was not a very famous doctor, Kim Ji-hyuk had mentioned him to catch Heo Jeong-tae’s truth, but Heo Jeong-tae was not someone to be caught easily.

Even so, the suspicion regarding Chief Heo Jeong-tae was not completely erased.

Ji-hyuk visited the administration department.

“Excuse me, but could you place a call to the Chief of Staff’s office of the Artillery Command, 2nd Corps of the ROK Army?”

At that time, it was an era when telephones were not easily accessible. An era when one could not make a call anywhere without a telephone operator. Directory assistance, connecting calls, calculating long-distance call charges, and so on.

To make a long-distance call, several complicated steps were necessary.

“The long-distance call charges must be deducted from your salary, Doctor. Is that alright?”

The administration staff asked while covering the receiver with his hand.

“Yes.”

“Understood. Then I will connect the call!”

A moment later, after completing several steps, the call was finally connected.

“Brother, I am Kim Ji-hyuk!”

-Oh my, look who it is. Isn’t it my brother?

Park Jung-ui, who was promoted to brigadier general this month, welcomed Ji-hyuk warmly.

“Congratulations on your promotion to general, Brother!”

-Hahaha, thank you. Somehow I got lucky.

“Then will you continue to serve there?”

-No. I will enter the Army War College soon. By the way, how are you doing?

“Yes. I came up to Seoul and am working at the National Medical Center.”

-Ah, I see! Before I enter the Army War College, I’ll have some free time, so I’ll visit you then. We must have a deep glass of soju, right?

“Yes. That would be great for me.”

-By the way, what’s going on? You calling me all of a sudden?

“Actually…”

Kim Ji-hyuk asked Park Jung-ui about Heo Jeong-tae’s background.

-Well. How hard could that be? I’ll look into it in detail and have someone contact you. My adjutant will contact you soon.

“Yes. Thank you.”

-Hahaha, it’s really good to hear my brother’s voice. Before long, you and I will have things to do together for the development of this South Korea.

‘Of course. For the modernization of South Korea’s medical system, your power is absolutely necessary! I will be waiting until then.’

“Yes! I will count the days until you come up, Brother.”

In that way, Kim Ji-hyuk requested the materials regarding Heo Jeong-tae’s military medical service history from Park Jung-ui.

And a few days later, a call came from Brigadier General Park Jung-ui’s adjutant.

“Is that true?”

-Yes, it is. Major Heo Jeong-tae was a military doctor in the Blue Star Division and has a record of participating as a member of the Blue Star Division during the Incheon Landing Operation. He seems to have had quite a high reputation as a military doctor.

‘Whew, did I have a needless misunderstanding? Since this much is true, everything is factual, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I needlessly suspected the Chief…’

“Ah, I see.”

-But there is one strange thing?

“Yes? Strange?”

-A while ago, a military doctor named Captain Jang, who graduated from Yonhei, entered our unit, and he said Major Heo Jeong-tae is in England?

“Yes? What do you mean by that?”

-Ah, while searching for the materials you requested, I asked Captain Jang. He said there is indeed a doctor named Heo Jeong-tae at his hospital, but that person is still studying in England. Since he is a man of wealth and his father holds a high government position, there is no way he would have participated in the war.

‘What on earth does this mean?’

-So I asked if there could be a person with the same name. He said that could be the case, but it wouldn’t be the senior Heo Jeong-tae he knows.

“Ah… Is that so?”

-Anyway, they say he was definitely a good military doctor when he served in the Blue Star Division.

“Yes, I see. Would I be able to contact that military doctor?”

-That shouldn’t be difficult. However, currently there is outdoor training, so it might be difficult to contact him for about a week. I’ll tell him to contact you as soon as he returns from training.

“Yes. Thank you!”

‘Sigh, it’s confusing, so confusing!’

Although it was an unimaginable thing in the era Ji-hyuk lived in before his regression, in South Korea right after the Korean War where everything was a mess, anything could happen.

Ji-hyuk intended to dig into Heo Jeong-tae’s identity a bit more.

* * *

Emergency room.

Then one day, a patient visited the emergency room.

“Where does it hurt?”

“My chest feels like it’s burning, and my upper abdomen hurts terribly!”

The patient clutched her upper abdomen with a painful expression.

A nineteen-year-old female patient.

She was the only daughter of a wealthy man who operated a flour mill, which was referred to as the Three White Industries along with cotton and sugar, enjoying their heyday in the 1950s.

“Do you have a cough or sputum?”

Kim Ji-hyuk continued the medical history taking.

“No. Nothing like that… My chest just feels tight and burning! It hurts so much I feel like I’m going to die!”

Puff, puff—

The patient writhed in agony, clutching her chest.

“First we need to take an X-ray…”

In these days when people were poor enough that even eating, sleeping, and dressing were burdensome, taking an X-ray was not something just anyone could do.

“Our Chae-yeon is our only child! So please save our daughter!”

The guardian clung to Kim Ji-hyuk and pleaded repeatedly.

“This is already the third hospital. Since everyone says they don’t know well, I’m dying of frustration!”

“Yes. First we must run tests, so do not worry too much and leave it to us.”

“I am a man running a flour mill. Whether it is a hundred thousand Hwan or a million Hwan, I will pay all the money, so do not worry about the money and just save my daughter. I will reward you handsomely!”

The father was burning with anxiety.

“Understood. Nurse Yoon! Since we need to take a chest X-ray of this child, contact the radiologist Hwang Chang-young and arrange for it to be shot immediately!”

Fortunately, the National Medical Center was one of the few hospitals capable of X-ray imaging.

“Yes, got it! I’ll prepare right away! Patient, please come this way!”

With that, the nurse took the patient and moved to the radiology department.

* * *

After a while, the test results came out, and Ji-hyuk took Chae-yeon’s X-ray results and went to find Chief Heo Jeong-tae.

‘If he evades it even today…’

“Chief, the patient’s X-ray results are out.”

“Is that so? Let’s check together.”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae, who had not examined a single patient so far. Now he could no longer evade the situation.

“Yes, Chief!”

In that way, Ji-hyuk hung the X-ray on the illuminator.

‘Let’s see how he responds! The chest radiograph shows a dense opacity in the upper left lung! This clearly means calcification is progressing, and basically, there are three possibilities: empyema, hemothorax, or oleothorax! At least if he is a doctor, he must catch this much!’

Ji-hyuk’s intention was to see if Chief Heo Jeong-tae would catch this.

“Hmm, a hazy spot is visible in the upper left lung.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It is tuberculosis.”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae diagnosed tuberculosis conclusively.

“Then what would be the best treatment?”

‘I’m not sure if he guessed it or knew it, but the patient’s disease is indeed tuberculosis!’

Kim Ji-hyuk narrowed his eyes and asked.

“Hmm… Do I even need to tell you that? Dr. Kim Ji-hyuk can judge and treat it on his own…”

“I am sorry, Professor! My skills are still lacking, and I haven’t grasped the proper treatment method. So I would like you to advise me. I apologize!”

“Hmm…”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae hesitated for a moment.

‘Why? Is it difficult to go any further?’

It was at that very moment.

“Inject oil here to collapse the lung to treat it.”

“……!”

Heo Jeong-tae drew out a long pointer and pointed at the pleural space in the X-ray.

‘Wow, he knows the treatment for tuberculosis!’

“You mean we should inject oil into the pleural space to cause lung collapse?”

“That’s right. Since it’s not a difficult treatment, you can do it directly, right?”

Heo Jeong-tae shrugged his shoulders with a confident expression.

“Yes. Understood. I will do so!”

“Yes, yes. For the time being, patients with this degree of symptoms should be treated by you and Dr. Kim Yun-seok. Do not report to me every single time. Understood?”

“Yes, Chief!”

“I am trusting and leaving it to you because your abilities are particularly outstanding. So I hope you do your best to treat the patients.”

“Understood.”

“Then you may leave now. I have an appointment with the Director, so I must go.”

“Understood.”

‘Hehehe, I finally caught it. That long tail!’

Kim Ji-hyuk had a meaningful expression as he stepped outside.