Chapter 43 – New Chief of Surgery, Heo Jeong-tae (4)

“Do you know this person?”

Kim Ji-hyuk showed the photo of Chief Heo Jeong-tae to military doctor Jang Min-gyo.

“No! I don’t know him.”

Without a tenth of a second’s hesitation, he shook his head.

“If I ask you to prove that this person is not your senior, would you be able to do that for me?”

“Of course. Is this guy going around impersonating our senior?”

“…….”

Ji-hyuk nodded without a word.

“Of course I must testify. What a state of affairs! I heard that fake doctors are rampant lately, but to think it reached even the National Medical Center!”

Military doctor Jang Min-gyo could not suppress his indignation.

“It’s not 100% certain yet. Once we contact Yonhei University to double-check and it becomes clear, I will ask for your help!”

“Don’t worry about our school! I heard the school records were lost during the war and are currently being restored. They say the work will be finished soon, so I’ll check it.”

“I would be grateful if you could do that!”

“Impudent of him to impersonate our school, but how could he secure the chief position of that large hospital? I heard such things occasionally happened during the Japanese colonial era, but sigh, is this a story that makes sense in the twentieth century? Do not worry. We must pull this kind of guy out by the roots and punish him severely!”

“Please keep this a secret until everything is decided.”

“Of course! Guys like this have quick wits, so if word gets out, they’ll run away in the middle of the night!”

“Yes. Thank you!”

“Ah, and these are tickets for the Gukgeuk starring the actress Mi-ryeong! It will be staged at the Myeonghwa Theater in Yeongdeungpo next week. If your time permits, come to watch it! Since there are two tickets, you can come with someone you are dating.”

“The ticket price must be expensive?”

“No! You seem to have a deep connection with General Park Jung-ui, so this is a bribe to ask you to look favorably upon me!”

Haha—

Military doctor Jang Min-gyo showed a sheepish smile.

“Then I shouldn’t accept it even more.”

“Oh, it’s a joke, a joke! I was planning to watch it, but the time didn’t work out, so I’m giving them to you. Do not feel burdened! It’s nothing.”

Jang Min-gyo forced the tickets into Ji-hyuk’s hand.

“Yes. I don’t have anyone I’m dating, but if time permits, I’ll go to watch it. Thank you!”

‘The actress Mi-ryeong… Well, I wanted to watch a Gukgeuk once, so this worked out well.’

Kim Ji-hyuk reluctantly accepted the Gukgeuk performance tickets that military doctor Jang Min-gyo handed him.

‘He was indeed a fake doctor!’

A few days later, with the help of military doctor Jang Min-gyo, Ji-hyuk verified the school registry. Now, he could be 100% certain that Chief Heo Jeong-tae was a fake doctor.

* * *

Chief of Surgery’s office.

“Chief, where are you going?”

Kim Ji-hyuk visited Chief Heo Jeong-tae for a final check.

“Huh? Uh, yeah. I have a meeting of chiefs of surgery today.”

“Your meetings are quite frequent.”

“Indeed. Since the war has ended, there are many things to do. Regarding the medical law, or the medical support fields from America and Europe… Our hospital also has many things to discuss with the Swedish side.”

“Indeed. Most of all, regarding the medical law, it seems there are many laws that need to be reorganized. In particular, I think the revision of the law regarding fake doctors is urgent.”

“Hmm… There is the National Medical Law, isn’t there? With a fine of up to one hundred thousand Won and a maximum of two years of imprisonment, shouldn’t that be enough?”

‘Hehehe, he seems to know the law well.’

“Yes. Although it has been several years since it was enacted, practical crackdowns are rarely carried out. As you know well, Chief, fake doctors are like moths eating away at citizens’ lives. In 1927, numerous people died due to the abuse of emetine injections to treat lung fluke disease, and even without going back to that era, a while ago in Incheon, an unqualified person gave a wrong injection…”

“Okay, okay! If I attend today’s meeting, I will bring up that issue. I’m late for my appointment! I’ll leave first!”

Chief Heo Jeong-tae cut off Kim Ji-hyuk’s words as if he didn’t want to hear them.

“Born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province in 1912!”

“……!”

Freeze—

Heo Jeong-tae stopped walking while changing his clothes.

“After graduating from elementary and common school, you worked at a Japanese hospital where a Japanese named Furiyama was the director, learning medicine over the shoulder! Is that correct?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“And when liberation came and Furiyama abandoned the hospital to return to his country, you started acting as a doctor. Thanks to your decent Japanese and cleverness, you learned medical skills fairly well. You were good enough that simple procedures or treatments wouldn’t look out of place even if a doctor did them.”

Kim Ji-hyuk smoothly recited Heo Jeong-tae’s history.

“I-I have no idea what nonsense you are talking about. I wasn’t even born in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province…”

“Yes. Laundering your identity must have cost quite a bit of money! In the process, you learned that there was a doctor named Heo Jeong-tae, who shared the same name as you, in Yonhei University’s medical school. You must have thought of it as a heaven-sent opportunity. Because Dr. Heo Jeong-tae was not in South Korea since he had gone to England to study! It would have been the perfect opportunity to impersonate him.”

“A-Are you crazy? Wh-who is impersonating whom?”

As the topic of sharing the same name came up, Chief Heo Jeong-tae began to panic.

“This person is Dr. Heo Jeong-tae, who graduated from Yonhei University College of Medicine, whom you impersonated! How can you share the same name but look so completely different?”

Snap—

Kim Ji-hyuk presented the photo of the real doctor Heo Jeong-tae before Heo Jeong-tae.

“Ah, no…”

At the speed of light, a red flush rose from Heo Jeong-tae’s neck.

“Chief, everything is over. It is not too late even now, so confess everything and turn yourself in. This is my courtesy to the Chief I served, even if briefly!”

“You, are you trying to threaten me with a single photo like this? I am the doctor Heo Jeong-tae who graduated from Yonhei!”

“…….”

He did not repent of his wrongdoing until the end.

Kim Ji-hyuk glared at him with a pathetic look.

“You, do you know who I am? I am the person who served General MacArthur during the Incheon Landing Operation! With a single word of mine to the US 8th Army…”

“Yes. Go to the US 8th Army and tell them. How would I know about your birthplace and your work as an errand boy under a Japanese named Furiyama?”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“You must be thinking ‘no way’ in your heart, right? Yes. That is correct. Because this is fresh material from the US 8th Army Intelligence Department! Whew, I wanted to give you a last chance to reflect, but it’s a pity. Then, I will take it as meaning you won’t turn yourself in…”

“Wa-Wait a minute! Dr. Kim Ji-hyuk! Just a moment!”

Feeling that it was no longer a situation where he could hold out, Heo Jeong-tae clutched Kim Ji-hyuk and began to cling to him.

“Do you need money? Or, or success? Even if I look like this, I am the president of the South Korean Surgical Association! If I make up my mind… I’ll go all the way with you, Dr. Ji-hyuk! Huh? I’ll guarantee your success, Dr. Ji-hyuk!”

Sigh—

Kim Ji-hyuk let out a sigh as if he found it absurd.

“No, no! Open a clinic! I will set up a splendid hospital for you in Jongno! Or if you want to study abroad, go! Just overlook this once. Then I will submit my resignation and go down to my hometown, living like a dead mouse.”

Heo Jeong-tae held onto Kim Ji-hyuk’s trouser hem and clung desperately.

“How much money did you make by impersonating a doctor to act like this?”

“I-It’s not that… I didn’t intend to do this from the start. But because people kept saying I was better than the Seoul doctors… Anyway, I have accumulated quite a lot of money!”

“How much is it? Setting up a decent hospital in Jongno will cost quite a bit of money. It will easily cost several million Hwan.”

“Don’t worry. I will give you ten million Hwan if you want. I have cash in my home safe and quite a bit of real estate in Myeongdong! So…”

It was at that very moment.

“Officers! Please come in. Heo Jeong-tae just confessed that he made a lot of money through fraud. He says he has cash in his safe at home and real estate in Myeongdong!”

Bang—

No sooner had Kim Ji-hyuk finished speaking than the police entered.

“Wh-what?”

Heo Jeong-tae, whose face turned pale, was so flustered he didn’t know what to do.

“What do you mean ‘what’? Is this your first time seeing the police?”

“You, you bastard!”

Aaaaagh—

Heo Jeong-tae wailed, covering his head.

This was the moment when Heo Jeong-tae’s entire identity, after living as a fake doctor for over ten years, was exposed.

South Korea in 1953, gloomy because the entire state system had collapsed.

This incident vividly revealed how lax it was for such an absurd thing to happen.

* * *

A few days later, duty room.

The National Medical Center, which had undergone a major uproar due to the fake doctor Heo Jeong-tae.

In the end, Heo Jeong-tae was arrested on charges of fraud.

“Ji-hyuk, the world is truly scary lately! I thought quacks were only in the countryside or provinces, but how could such a person be in the middle of Seoul, and in our hospital at that?”

Yun-seok still shook his head in disbelief.

“They say if you close your eyes, they’ll slice off your nose. There’s no law saying a second or third Heo Jeong-tae won’t appear. So we must always keep our wits about us too.”

“Whew, right. By the way, the Chief of Surgery position is vacant again, isn’t it?”

“Yes. For now, the Director said he is looking for someone to invite, so until then, we just need to faithfully do the work we have to do.”

“Right. By the way, how could you not say a single word to me about such a major thing?”

Yun-seok pouted, looking displeased.

“Well, this guy Heo Jeong-tae impersonated a doctor for over ten years and even acted as a military doctor in the army. He is a man of extraordinary quick wits, so I was worried that if the information leaked, it would cause a problem. I’m sorry.”

“Even so, honestly I feel a bit hurt.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“You don’t have to buy something delicious, but instead, can you show me a Gukgeuk? The one starring the actress Mi-ryeong?”

“Hey! What power do I have to get performance tickets… Huh? By the way, where did it go?”

Kim Ji-hyuk searched his coat pockets.

“This?”

Yun-seok took out two tickets from his pocket and showed them.

“Huh? Why is that there?”

“Hehehe, what’s this? Why are you so surprised? Aren’t you giving this to me?”

Yun-seok snickered, hiding the tickets behind his back.

“That is not it! I was going to watch it with Senior Shin Jung-eun when she comes up this weekend…”

“Ah! A woman comes before a childhood friend?”

“Th-that’s not it…”

“Forget it! The guy who carelessly lost it is a fool. The finder is the owner! Chunhyangjeon starring actress Mi-ryeong… I really wanted to watch this! I wouldn’t miss this unless Marilyn Monroe is performing here!”

“Wow. Marilyn Monroe!”

“You bastard! Are you lying now? Why would Marilyn Monroe come to our country… Oh! Is it real? Did John Eisenhower give you a tip?”

At the mention of Marilyn Monroe, Yun-seok’s ears perked up.

‘No! That’s not it, but anyway she is coming next March. Marilyn Monroe!’

In March 1954, Marilyn Monroe, who had married American baseball star Joe DiMaggio, came to Japan for their honeymoon but suddenly flew to South Korea without even spending their first night together to perform for the US troops participating in the Korean War.

Because it was a sudden event, even John Eisenhower, who was well-informed about South Korean information, could not know about it yet.

Therefore, tickets for Marilyn Monroe’s performance did not even exist yet.

“Yes. I heard she will perform here next March. I think I will be able to get those tickets…”

Kim Ji-hyuk bragged, stroking his chin.

“You! Is that lie real?”

“Well. If you don’t want to see Marilyn Monroe’s performance, whom you love so much…”

“Okay, okay! I’ll give them to you! Here! You must give me the ticket for her performance later!”

‘Hehehe, wow! I didn’t know Grandfather was a passionate fan of Marilyn Monroe!’

“Of course! I’ll secure the front-row seat for you!”

“Really? F-For real?”

Before he knew it, Yun-seok’s mouth was split in a wide grin.

“Of course.”

“Hehe, actually I have tickets for that performance too.”

Yun-seok smiled as he handed the tickets back to Ji-hyuk.

“What?”

“Yeah!”

“With whom?”

“I am a fan of actress Mi-ryeong, so I was going to go alone. But since it turned out like this, I think I’ll go with Professor Lee Gil-sook. I owed her a big favor last time. So as a way to repay her.”

‘What? Grandfather! But why is your face turning red? Don’t tell me you like Professor Lee Gil-sook? That won’t do! Absolutely not! If you abandon Grandmother, I won’t be born either!’

“Are you liking Professor Lee Gil-sook now?”

“Huh? No, no! How could I even dream of that?”

Yun-seok twisted his body, denying it.

“But why is your face turning red?”

Ji-hyuk glared at Yun-seok fiercely.

“Because it’s hot! I am originally a person with a lot of heat!”

Yun-seok fanned himself continuously with his hand.

“You really shouldn’t do that, okay? You have Mi-ju!”

“Sigh, didn’t I tell you not to mention Mi-ju? That woman… I don’t even know where she is stuck right now!”

“Anyway, find her somehow! Professor Lee Gil-sook is absolutely not the one. Your partner must be Mi-ju!”

“What are you talking about? Why are you so angry?”

“Anyway! Keep in mind that if you break up with Mi-ju, it’s over between us too! Understood?”

Ji-hyuk raised his voice in excitement.