Chapter 87 – Coal Mine Accident (1)

“I received a vacation after a long time, but I didn’t have any place in particular to go… By any chance, was I in the way?”

Shin Jeong-eun read the expressions of Kim Ji-hyuk and Lee Geum-i.

“Ah, no. Of course not. What do you mean in the way?”

“Doctor, then I shall head out now! Thank you for treating me well.”

At that, Lee Geum-i, rather reading Shin Jeong-eun’s expression, stood up from her seat.

‘What is this? This atmosphere right now…’

Kim Ji-hyuk, with an embarrassed expression, blushed.

“Yes. For now, please be discharged, and if you do not feel well, visit the clinic again. Make sure to get examined.”

“Yes. Doctor! Then I shall be going.”

With that, Lee Geum-i hurriedly packed her things.

A moment later.

“Senior, how did this happen?”

Kim Ji-hyuk asked as he took the luggage Shin Jeong-eun was holding.

“*Fufu*, it seems like you aren’t welcoming me much? Should I go back?”

Shin Jeong-eun made a coy expression.

“No. It is not that, but you came so suddenly without any contact… Please sit down first. Shall I get you a cup of tea?”

Kim Ji-hyuk offered Shin Jeong-eun a seat.

“No. It is fine.”

“Ah, yes. Please sit down for now.”

Kim Ji-hyuk offered Shin Jeong-eun a chair.

“While you were away, Dr. Ji-hyuk, there were many changes at the hospital. The anesthesia department now has three people, including me. Two general surgeons also arrived, and latest medical equipment came in with support from the United States. Abdominal ultrasound is now possible too.”

“Wow! Really? That is truly welcoming news.”

“Yes. By the time you return, Dr. Ji-hyuk, our hospital will look quite like a general hospital. Swedish doctors will also come late this year.”

“That is a huge leap forward! Oh dear, I wonder if there will be anything for me to do when I return?”

“Are you worried about becoming unemployed?”

“*Pfft*, it is fine. Even if I end up unemployed, it is good as long as the hospital gets better.”

“Come on… Anyway, because good doctors came, the workload became much lighter. That is why I received a vacation I didn’t even expect.”

“I see.”

Only then did Kim Ji-hyuk nod.

“I thought about going down to Busan… but I came here thinking you might be struggling alone, and it seems you are doing well? The woman earlier was pretty.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that? She is a patient.”

“*Hohoho*, it is just a joke. Why are you blushing like that over such a thing?”

“Ah, yes. By the way, is Professor Jeong Ki-ryeo doing well?”

Kim Ji-hyuk felt redness rising from below his neck. He quickly changed the subject.

“Yes. The professor is always the same. Though there are still some issues these days with free treatment for vagrants.”

“Is that so! The hospital might go bankrupt at this rate.”

“Why would the hospital go bankrupt? It is the professor himself who is going bankrupt.”

“Sigh, that is why the medical insurance system needs to be established quickly. Because medical expenses are too expensive, people cannot come to the hospital even when their bodies are sick. That is why quack doctors are crawling all over the country.”

“You are right. It seems to be a truly urgent issue.”

‘I will definitely pull it forward. The medical insurance system of our country!’

“Aside from that, how is Yun-seok? Is he preparing well to go to America?”

“*Hohoho*, Dr. Yun-seok is very excited. But a while ago he had a huge fight with Mi-ju.”

“Grandmo… with Mi-ju? Why?”

“Why else? It is because of Marilyn Monroe. She must have heard the news that she is getting a divorce.”

“*Pfft*, what does that have to do with Yun-seok?”

“That is true. But women’s minds do not work that way. Anyway, there are things like that. Things men do not know well.”

“Sigh, tell Mi-ju not to worry. Yun-seok is not that kind of person.”

“Yes. But they say out of sight, out of mind… Anyway, the clinic facilities are quite excellent. It is not inferior to a hospital in Seoul!”

Shin Jeong-eun said as she looked around the clinic.

“Yes. It seems the mining office invested quite a bit.”

“Wow! There is even an X-ray room? In a countryside like this?”

Shin Jeong-eun, who was looking around the clinic a bit more, said in surprise.

“Yes. Most things are equipped.”

“By the way, do you work here alone? Is there no one to help you?”

“There is one nurse. Since she is quite a veteran and familiar with this place, I receive a lot of help.”

“I see! It seems she has not come to work yet…”

“Indeed. She is a very diligent person who usually comes to work early… Oh, come to think of it, it is already ten o’clock?”

Nurse Park In-seon usually came to work at seven in the morning and started with cleaning. However, today, she had not shown up for three hours without any contact.

“Ah… Could she be feeling unwell somewhere?”

“Indeed. I think I should wait for about another hour, and if she still does not come, I will have to go check on her…”

It was right at that moment.

*Crash—*

A man roughly opened the door of the clinic and came inside. He was Mr. Oh, who worked at the coal mine.

“Do-doctor! There is trouble.”

Mr. Oh’s voice was urgent.

“Mr. Oh, what is the matter? Did someone get hurt?”

“Th-that is not it… a s-serious accident has occurred!”

“An accident? Please calm down and tell me step by step. What kind of accident?”

Hearing Mr. Oh’s words, Kim Ji-hyuk seemed to grow anxious.

“A coal mine accident! The shaft collapsed! It is a complete mess right now!”

“…!”

Dumbfounded, it was the news that the mine shaft had collapsed.

Moeundong Coal Mine!

It was the largest coal mine in our country in the 1950s.

It was a mammoth-scale coal mine, where shafts were formed every 50 meters underground, and thousands of miners could mine simultaneously across ten shafts.

However, safety devices were not properly equipped despite its scale, so there had been frequent talk among the miners that an accident could happen at any time.

In the end, just as they feared, an accident had occurred.

“Th-then, are you saying people are trapped inside the shaft?”

“Yes! The miners are trapped inside and cannot move at all!”

“Sigh, this is trouble. What about the mining office? Have they taken any action?”

“It seems they contacted the head office for now. By the way, the clinic’s Nurse Park is…”

Mr. Oh could not bring himself to continue.

“Yes? What about the nurse? What is it?”

“She is trapped inside.”

“Pardon? What does that mean? Why is Nurse Park trapped in the shaft?”

“An emergency patient arose in the c-coal mine, so she went inside!”

“Is she crazy? Why did the nurse go inside the coal mine? Without my permission?”

Shocked, Kim Ji-hyuk pressed Mr. Oh.

“It was something that happened often before…”

Nurse Park In-seon had frequently entered the coal mine for simple emergency treatments. This morning, too, she seemed to have gone inside the shaft after hearing that a miner had injured his ankle.

Since it was such a common occurrence, she probably did not bother to report it to Kim Ji-hyuk.

Then the shaft accident happened, and she appeared to be trapped inside with the miners.

“So you are saying Nurse Park is trapped right now?!”

Kim Ji-hyuk’s voice was sharp.

“Dr. Ji-hyuk, calm down! It is not this person’s fault, is it?”

Shin Jeong-eun calmed Kim Ji-hyuk down.

And.

“Sir, did you report it?”

“Yes. Of course I reported it.”

“Even if it was reported, they lack proper equipment and the path is rough, so it will take a long time. For now, I think I must go.”

Kim Ji-hyuk intended to head to the scene immediately.

“I will help too. Let us go together!”

“Yes. Thank you, Senior!”

So Kim Ji-hyuk and Shin Jeong-eun packed the first-aid kit and rushed to the scene with Mr. Oh.

* * *

The accident scene.

*Murmuring—*

Kim Ji-hyuk and Shin Jeong-eun rushed to the accident scene.

It was crowded with mining office staff and people who fortunately escaped the shaft in advance.

“What on earth happened?”

Kim Ji-hyuk ran to a mining office employee and asked.

“Have you arrived, Doctor?”

“That is not important, how did this happen?”

“We haven’t fully grasped the situation yet, but they entered the shaft after blasting work, and there seemed to have been an unexploded shell. Because that went off… most of the miners escaped, but it seems a few miners and Nurse Park couldn’t make it out in time.”

‘Sigh, I hoped it wasn’t the case, but Nurse Park In-seon is indeed trapped as well!’

“…”

Kim Ji-hyuk’s complexion seemed to turn ashen.

“There was a sick patient, and Nurse Park was treating that patient, so…”

The mining office employee also could not continue, appearing distressed.

“What about rescue?”

“Yes. I believe rescue members from Gangwon Fire Station and people from the mining office are out here rescuing them.”

Since the fire station was first established in 1947, it was only in its seventh year, so both equipment and manpower were in a poor state.

“Did they only come from the fire station? For an accident of this scale, we should receive help from the military.”

“I do not know about that…”

‘Damn it! Just Gangwon Fire Station will be far from enough!’

“Listen to me carefully from now on! Exactly how many people are identified as trapped inside the shaft?”

“Ah, I just received a contact, and they say it is about seven to eight people. Including Nurse Park.”

“Seven to eight people… If the shaft collapsed, the biggest problems would be toxic gases and the groundwater gushing from the coal seam. For now, secure as many oxygen masks as possible.”

“Obtaining oxygen masks will not be easy, though?”

“Hey! People are dying inside right now! Get them somehow! Even if you have to search every hospital in the country!”

“Ah, I understand. I will look into it.”

“What are you lingering for? Shouldn’t you contact the head office right now?”

As the mining office employee hesitated, Kim Ji-hyuk shouted.

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

With that, the man hurriedly headed toward the mining office.

A moment later.

‘The accident scene is a sealed shaft! Air will be scarce, and various toxic gases will be spewing out. The miners will be enduring with clumsy masks at best… Let alone Nurse Park, who probably isn’t wearing even that. There will definitely be patients with lung or heart problems. Judging by the poor rescue team, we have no time to wait until they are rescued! There won’t be room to treat them later!’

“Senior, it seems we must return to the clinic to pack equipment.”

“Pardon?”

“Prepare syringes for aspiration and catheters for lung intubation, and we should pack epinephrine (sympathetic stimulant) and atropine (parasympathetic blocker).”

“W-wait a minute! Are you planning to enter yourself right now?”

Shocked, Shin Jeong-eun stammered.

“If the situation demands that I enter, then I must.”

“No! It is too dangerous!”

Shin Jeong-eun stopped Kim Ji-hyuk, horrified.

“Nurse Park In-seon is inside, you know. And other miners too. I cannot let them die!”

“Still, how about waiting for the rescue? No matter how I think about it, it is too dangerous, Dr. Ji-hyuk!”

‘Even at best, the time Nurse Park and the miners can hold out is unlikely to exceed 24 hours! We must save them within that time!’

“Even if it is dangerous, I must enter!”

Kim Ji-hyuk did not bend his stubbornness despite Shin Jeong-eun’s warning.

He had already resolved to enter the mine shaft.