Chapter 46 – It Was Grandmother (1)

“I am a doctor. I’ll take a look! Please clear some space!”

Ji-hyuk, who had gone up to the stage, shouted.

“Yes? Yes, yes. Understood!”

At the word ‘doctor’, the actress Mi-ryeong and the staff who ran up late cleared the space.

“We need to lay the patient down, so if there is something like a mat, please bring it!”

Going up to the stage, Ji-hyuk slightly lifted actress Hong Mi-ju’s body.

“Yes?”

“I said we must lay the patient down comfortably! A mat… no, something we can lay on the floor to rest the patient! And as quickly as possible, 119…”

“Yes?”

“Ah, no. A mat quickly! Quickly!”

Kim Ji-hyuk ruffled his falling bangs as if he found it frustrating.

“O-Okay!”

Soon the staff brought a thick mat, and after Ji-hyuk laid actress Hong Mi-ju on it, he immediately went into emergency treatment.

“It wasn’t acting! She really seems to have fallen.”

“Indeed. Is she badly hurt? What should we do?”

“That person seems to be a doctor!”

A situation where the performance was ruined due to the sudden accident.

However, the people in the audience watched Ji-hyuk’s treatment without moving a muscle.

‘Grandmother, please…’

Ji-hyuk shook actress Hong Mi-ju’s arm, but her consciousness had already disappeared.

Ji-hyuk stamped his feet.

With a tense expression, Ji-hyuk shook actress Hong Mi-ju’s arm again.

‘Damn it! She isn’t regaining consciousness!’

Ji-hyuk had a dazed, devastated expression.

While jumping down toward the stage during her performance, actress Hong Mi-ju fell onto the rock-shaped set that was protruding, which impacted her abdomen.

It was certain that she had lost consciousness from that impact.

Ji-hyuk continuously checked actress Hong Mi-ju’s vitals.

‘Thank goodness. At least her breathing is still intact! Grandmother, don’t worry! I’ll save you no matter what!’

Ji-hyuk felt a bit relieved as he placed his finger beneath her nose.

But it was certainly not a situation to feel relieved at all.

Actress Hong Mi-ju had not regained consciousness yet, and her breathing was also irregular, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange if it cut off at any moment.

There was no external wound.

But that was more dangerous.

The fact that she was unable to regain consciousness despite having no external wounds.

‘Intra-abdominal hemorrhage!’

Ji-hyuk slightly lifted actress Hong Mi-ju’s top.

“……!”

Confirming this, Ji-hyuk’s face gradually stiffened.

‘How did this happen!’

The area around her abdomen had turned a pale purple. It was certain that intra-abdominal hemorrhage had occurred.

‘Damn, if her blood pressure drops further, shock will set in… If only we had epinephrine!’

Although it was a regrettable situation, it was certainly not a time to be lamenting.

“I’ll help too!”

“Ji-hyuk, what on earth is going on!”

At that moment, Senior Shin Jung-eun and Professor Lee Gil-sook came up to the stage at the same time.

“I suspect a splenic rupture!”

Ji-hyuk pointed to actress Hong Mi-ju’s abdomen.

“A splenic rupture? Then it’s a big deal, isn’t it? If it’s a splenic rupture, the internal bleeding must be immense.”

Shin Jung-eun asked with a serious expression.

“Yes. It seems so.”

Splenic rupture!

Ji-hyuk’s thought was that she had lost her footing and fallen from the upper stage, landing on the pointed rock set up on the floor, and the impact had highly likely ruptured her spleen.

The spleen was a sponge-like, weakly structured oval organ. It was about 12 cm long and weighed about 150 g, located behind the stomach in the upper left abdominal cavity, right under the diaphragm.

Indeed, the pale purple skin coincided with that location.

Ji-hyuk deduced that a problem had occurred in the spleen because of that.

This spleen is a vascular organ, meaning it is filled with blood inside.

Physically, it was very weak, like soft tofu, so it was an organ that could be easily damaged even by a small impact.

Even to the extent that it could break with just a few strong punches to the abdomen.

As a close example, it was also an organ where accidents frequently occurred due to school violence.

But just because the spleen was torn didn’t mean a person died immediately.

The reason was simple.

Even if a large amount of blood poured out due to damage to the spleen, if the patient’s blood pressure dropped, the amount of blood flowing to the splenic artery would be cut off and naturally decrease.

Therefore, what was more serious than the spleen was the lungs.

“Senior Jung-eun!”

Ji-hyuk closed his eyes for a moment as if organizing something.

Suddenly opening his eyes, he shouted to Shin Jung-eun. He seemed to have found an emergency treatment method.

“Yes. Speak!”

“Please check her breathing and pulse. Since we need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding at the hemorrhage site, please find something we can use as a pressure bandage!”

Ji-hyuk instructed in a calm tone.

“Yes. Got it!”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Professor Lee Gil-sook, who was nearby, asked.

“It will be enough with Professor Shin Jung-eun and me here. But as soon as the emergency treatment is over, we must move her to the hospital and perform surgery! I would like you to make those preparations, Professor!”

“Yes. You will come to the National Medical Center, right?”

Professor Lee Gil-sook nodded as if she understood.

“Yes. We must. Yun-seok is there too.”

“Got it! I’ll go and instruct them to prepare so that we can perform surgery as soon as you arrive, Ji-hyuk, and then I’ll return with a car immediately!”

Professor Lee Gil-sook nodded continuously.

“Thank you so much!”

With that, Professor Lee Gil-sook also began to move quickly, and Ji-hyuk entered into the main emergency treatment.

‘A sucking chest wound on the lungs! Although her spleen ruptured from the major fall, there was also an impact to her lungs! We must apply chest compression to prevent air from entering the lungs at all costs! If only we had plastic wrap and butter in a pinch…’

It was a situation where they could not obtain emergency medical instruments, let alone plastic wrap and butter to use as temporary expedients.

“Wh-what do we do now?”

Shin Jung-eun, who had finished the abdominal compression of actress Hong Mi-ju, asked with a serious expression.

“Whew… That! Tear off some of that! And if you go outside the theater, there will be a taffy seller! Please bring some of that taffy!”

Ji-hyuk looked around.

Then Ji-hyuk pointed to the cellophane installed as a stage prop.

“Are we going to compress it with that?”

“Yes. It’s a pity, but I think that is the best right now! We’ll compress it with cellophane and melt the taffy to fill the gap so that air doesn’t enter!”

“O-Okay. We have no choice!”

Scurry—

Shin Jung-eun, who received Ji-hyuk’s instructions, moved quickly.

Considering that the diameter of the wound on actress Hong Mi-ju’s chest was not small, it was a critical emergency.

Far more dangerous than a simple splenic rupture.

The lungs, where normal breathing occurs only when negative and positive pressures act properly!

Due to the thoracic fistula caused by the external impact, air moved with every exhalation and inhalation, forcing the injured lung into a state of ischemia.

The lung, where a problem occurs if the flow of air is not smooth even for a few minutes.

It was a situation where lung tissue necrosis could proceed if the emergency treatment was not smooth.

Wheeze—

Wheeze—

Actress Hong Mi-ju’s collapsed lung was struggling to hold on, making a metallic sound to supply oxygen somehow.

“I brought the cellophane and melted the taffy!”

Puff, puff—

Shin Jung-eun breathed heavily, showing how much she had run.

“You did a great job! Now starting the chest dressing!”

Ji-hyuk tightly compressed actress Hong Mi-ju’s chest with the cellophane Shin Jung-eun brought, and filled the gaps where the cellophane overlapped with the sticky taffy to prevent even minute air from entering or escaping.

‘Whew, this seems to have resolved the immediate crisis… Please! Just don’t let a hole form in the lung! If a hole doesn’t form, a chest tube insertion will be enough! Grandmother! Please show some strength! It’s me, Ji-hyuk, the grandson you loved most!’

Ji-hyuk’s eyes turned red.

“……!”

As Ji-hyuk tightly held actress Hong Mi-ju’s hand with a sorrowful expression, Shin Jung-eun stared at the scene blankly.

Ji-hyuk took off his coat and covered actress Hong Mi-ju to maintain her body temperature so it wouldn’t drop.

Gasp, gasp—

Finally, actress Hong Mi-ju’s breathing returned!

‘What a relief! The return of breathing means a hole didn’t form in the lung!’

Ji-hyuk, who had escaped the worst situation. His facial expression brightened rapidly.

“Ji-hyuk, is the patient okay now?”

Seeing Ji-hyuk’s dedicated treatment, she felt some unknown disappointment.

“Yes! Fortunately, the chest dressing seems to have worked! We seem to have escaped the worst situation!”

“What a relief!”

It was at that very moment.

“Where… is this?”

It seemed actress Hong Mi-ju’s consciousness had returned.

“You are on the stage!”

“Wh-what happened? I’m not dreaming right now, am I?”

Actress Hong Mi-ju, who still couldn’t grasp the current situation properly.

“Yes! I’ll tell you the details later. You must not speak much if possible! We’ve escaped the worst, but…”

Just as Ji-hyuk laid actress Hong Mi-ju down again as she tried to raise her body.

“Ji-Ji-hyuk?”

Hong Mi-ju, who regained consciousness, slowly raised her head and looked at Ji-hyuk.

“Do, do you know me?”

“Yes… How did you get here, Ji-hyuk?”

Considering that color was slowly returning to her face, her condition was certainly improving.

‘I have no memory, but it seems she met the original Kim Ji-hyuk before I transmigrated!’

“I came to watch the performance!”

“What about Yun-seok…”

“Yun-seok didn’t come with me.”

“Did you save me, Ji-hyuk?”

“Ah, that… Anyway, you must not say anything. Just wait a bit. We will take you to the hospital.”

“…….”

Hong Mi-ju nodded slowly.

Right then,

“Ji-hyuk, I have the car ready outside! Move the patient to the hospital quickly!”

Professor Lee Gil-sook ran into the theater, shouting.

Along with two hospital staff.

“Really!”

Color returned to Ji-hyuk’s face.

“Yes!”

“Please load the patient quickly!”

“Yes. Understood!”

With that, after finishing the emergency treatment, Ji-hyuk and Jung-eun loaded actress Hong Mi-ju onto a stretcher and moved swiftly.

* * *

A moment later, inside the car.

Wheeze—

Actress Hong Mi-ju was slowly regaining stability. Her breathing seemed much smoother than a moment ago.

“Ji-hyuk…”

Shin Jung-eun asked Ji-hyuk.

“Yes?”

Ji-hyuk was tightly holding Hong Mi-ju’s hands. He was focusing on Hong Mi-ju so much that he couldn’t even hear Jung-eun when she called him.

“Hehe, ah, no. Anyway, is the patient okay now?”

Shin Jung-eun shook her head slowly, smiling faintly.

“She seems to have passed the major crisis, but we can’t be sure yet. We must take her to the hospital quickly and run detailed tests.”

“Yes. I see.”

“Yes! You did a great job today!”

“What? I just did your errands, Ji-hyuk. You did the hard work.”

“No! That was very important! If not for you, Senior, my grandmother…”

“Yes? Grandmother?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing! Anyway, it’s a relief the patient regained stability!”

Ji-hyuk had no intention of withdrawing his sorrowful gaze from Hong Mi-ju.

“Yes.”

A moment later.

The car carrying actress Hong Mi-ju arrived at the National Medical Center.