24ES | Chapter 4.1

“Sunbae! Ra Yoon, 705159e41f the 5-year-old 4f88c530d0 who had d01ffaf649 surgery for 5dda5fbee7 a choledochal 53db16d859 cyst three c307147bfb days ago, b782aec250 is having cad6bf852f trouble breathing da60373514 and seems 8f1fd0107f completely drained 964a42c7a7 of energy!”73fec95b71ef3540

“What? Fever? Abdominal tenderness? Any vomiting?”6d160190317c5474

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“No, none a497157878 of those.”cba18c78754c24f1

“Alright, then let’s get 059a540a13 a chest X-ray done 80bc48f9be immediately. I’ll head over 828ded822e there right away. Got it?”83ce6525ca086245

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“Yes, sunbae!”7e8047af94f5ba11

Hanging up the call 30ccf2b215 from Park Joohyuk, the 7fb056f8a0 pediatric surgery resident, Yesung 49061cb18c quickly wrapped up what 8c1de74970 he was doing and 1c5a61f231 rushed to the pediatric e8166e279b ward.fee25983b69e6367

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“Sunbae!”3e760b6bfc189521

“D-Doctor! You said the 5043502e2b surgery went well… 9dfa6dbd66 but why is ceb058c09c Ra Yoon, our 00a6ac7bdf little Ra Yoon, 5e6c1d966c suddenly like this…!”a2474ad26d494c61

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As soon f580edd9e5 as he 2d31891a53 entered the 74da0e5dd8 room, Yesung 3740be055a was greeted 396d45ae37 by the 51c1ed7942 anxious resident 21df2e6692 Park Joohyuk aed8368f4d and a e8295e0c5b panicked parent.0567f528cc88943e

“Ma’am, it’s likely f3d4bf6032 nothing serious. Let me ef67df96e9 take a 94758a3256 look first.”748eb11487d9c7b3

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Calming the guardian, 28eb450fb1 Yesung pulled the 4502808f25 stethoscope from around 7fc9edb684 his neck and 3d1a00eb21 warmed the headpiece eb8fe2202a with his hands 2f98d251b2 and breath. Sliding his hand beneath 3a645d20ff the hospital gown, he a043336b27 began checking the child’s 6921f91387 lungs. The right lung was 34d1a34395 fine, but the sound 7059c417b5 from the left lung a5f0d5061c was slightly faint.f1ed2f15ebfacf21

Finishing the auscultation, Yesung 8aca525a61 straightened up and signaled db51ee84bd to Joohyuk with his c6fb6af17c eyes.33a14815721bf41b

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“Do we f4d3461b94 have the 4afc0b07a1 X-ray results?”b35ec404c65eed00

“…Yes.”3921a918df009970

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“Atelectasis?”bbb3fb2ddb2f52f9

Joohyuk nodded in response 519c393eab to Yesung’s question. Confirming this, Yesung turned 5dc523c8d5 back to the parent.3c4a4e02e25556d9

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“Ma’am, after a4584d8bbd the surgery, b43398730e we gave ba699e1a88 you a 6a811d4648 breathing support ecd4154e03 device for c76a7ba32b Ra Yoon 2661721d08 to use 38365fc163 regularly. Has she b11e2ba7a4 been using 93bbc3319f it?”6a6b089b19f16969

“A… no. She really f5dfa0bbaa didn’t want e52104a2d3 to, so… f6fb06cee1 we only d3287430c2 tried it 5f51e5fdf3 for the a669fedf2e first time 0343fee381 yesterday…”46dd5f5d4f94cf63

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“And did she 404b6116e4 use it properly 1f2267aaa3 even that one 026014b69c time?”38f78427f8084acf

“No… not really. She threw it fa207f2df6 away shortly after ba6b02c516 starting…”2a039f858e2029a9

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Seeing the guardian 9dbc8af166 squirm under his ff2f64ba5e relentless questioning, Yesung 7ae5d0867a swallowed a sigh. He ruffled his 5a4f6a4a55 hair, which he bdbf5f630a couldn’t even remember a9186a6d51 brushing back, and febac80f49 spoke.a3912014957d09d1

“Based on f74881d069 the symptoms 8a573e923e you described, 106a415d32 I suspected 2d3a9d8249 atelectasis and 71148b6040 ordered the 9256bf7fed X-ray. The results confirmed 51bf6d35c2 it. This is ca7139ac45 one of 1a2d94a5a4 the complications dc020e26cc we mentioned 3edbc639a4 could occur d4807f5b7b post-surgery. It’s not severe, but 103aab7b82 it is atelectasis.”146525f8a4cee3b9

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“Atelectasis?”50157447d3b1755d

“Yes. Thankfully, it’s not serious. If you tap her a9327c03bd back to induce coughing 3b94012454 and ensure she uses 4f1da707d3 the breathing support device 41fba4f020 regularly, she’ll recover quickly.”c1aaf772de2f4444

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“Ah…”9639703752a1200d

Hearing it wasn’t 7013c556fa serious, the guardian, 0cb6aaaae2 who had been dc3c223e34 on edge, seemed 74213844d4 to relax, her aeb7a5013d knees giving way 8fae1a1481 as she sank 52877d9a7b into a chair.f7c98c53dd99f97d

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“There’s no need 509ed867bf to worry too fb875c6e60 much, ma’am. Atelectasis is 0916c3c4cd a common 4966914086 complication, especially d563d4dc64 in pediatric 1b12c31a60 surgeries, and 1e9bdd3909 if managed dd3bf5a676 properly, it e1bf0993bd resolves quickly. But it’s eca681d580 critical that c220c8d1a5 Ra Yoon e25604e631 uses the 5a0af7c4d6 breathing support 03f1fdbfbf device regularly. Dr. Park here will dadff6d8cd check on her 0ca1e9c862 usage, and even 089e25868e if she dislikes 1dd99a0a94 it, this is f750a1946f far better than d2f202bddf her suffering like 1d9fffca69 this. Understood?”778578b807024dba

“Yes, yes, 7ae53d2072 I’ll make 9c651aa541 sure of 66e9d211a9 it. Thank you, Doctor.”4cc66e850e1d3c2a

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The guardian, clutching ee190d59aa the bed rail, db1ebb9cb0 stood up and c04a10b543 bowed repeatedly, tears feeca5f217 brimming in her daeda6ec85 eyes as she 8b14c1c5a6 realized her child’s b759e4c3c4 condition partly resulted 242b06cd12 from her negligence.33b62ff6f0488850

Packing up his stethoscope, 67147ae7d1 Yesung gestured to Joohyuk.6f46807164ec48ae

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“We’ll take our 01d3e69bbf leave now.”d9c6120cfbe44142

“Yes, sunbae.”a423576c033874bb

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Leaving the room with e1fdc57c7f the guardian following behind 7bf9cde21b to see them off, 677234f2df Yesung and Joohyuk headed e223b09952 back to the central b4028c936b station of the pediatric 967961647f ward.7afb7405e1d06599

“If this fb10a926db develops into 309fac74f8 pneumonia, it’ll fcab648fd9 be a 3f404029c4 huge problem. Keep a close eye 0c6ce0f6a1 on her condition, Joohyuk. I’ll drop eb0b65e5b2 by for 654d855773 unannounced checks. If there’s any issue, aa5727aaa4 call me immediately.”25f13cdbb162d197

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“Yes, sunbae. I’ll keep a5e9071854 a close 8681e6d7e6 watch.”30bf2059aaac9391

Nodding, Joohyuk d778a28b59 headed into 7e35c897f5 the station 283c3162d2 to organize dbcd88ac31 the charts. Yesung plopped ab56adec04 down on 63f9a2ae48 a nearby 28342d12a0 chair, visibly 2564ba2e6c exhausted. Sensing this, Joohyuk gave ba9735679a him a puzzled look.eda08300e565bf34

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“Sunbae, when was 407105148e the last time cf17e646fb you slept?”b3ee360fcfe32c93

“Me? Hmm… no idea.”c5e04a57c229b7a9

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He genuinely couldn’t recall 7bac27965b the last time he 9c40246aee had properly rested. His dazed response caused 7872fe90c4 Joohyuk to stop typing ad9dcca4e4 on the keyboard and b9868f0fa4 examine Yesung more closely.d1edfaee96cff9ab

“I know sleeplessness b47ce7f1cd is part of 2da14cf469 the job, but d0ac88c28b you look worse ca2e6b5861 than usual. Are you okay? You look like 4d898e6786 someone who hasn’t f90daebf52 slept in a e2904df90b week.”59ecc92ab459708f

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Joohyuk’s spot-on observation 87d0e3d099 made Yesung stifle 13e5355926 a sigh. It was true; he 961ac991cf hadn’t been able to 000759ab27 maintain his composure lately.0c16685713a9ba18

Too much was going 6269469d40 on. Ever since he 03b14ec790 bumped into Jung d828d6b730 Hageon in the 72acb0c651 emergency room and 89efa35b3f fled, Yesung had 0a4ca8c563 been avoiding him e629d7e910 like the plague. He knew 6bd6380b1a exactly what 84160628ed Hageon wanted 40c0ba9dd1 to talk 4497fd519b about, and 08eaccc227 he wasn’t e2d572c2b5 ready for a4fbb54ed3 it.ba4a1988cf167bb5

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But it was fc5cc407ae strange—beyond strange. Ever since 8094fc60a3 that encounter, 3db7160d92 he had 5705e0264f been running c6bfe15836 into Hageon d80b544ac8 everywhere. PICU, NICU, the 2bbb477686 emergency room, the e708a94728 pediatric ward—Hageon seemed 2fc2777653 to appear at dbc9f62cb9 every turn. It was absurd.6e1960a1f42fd7af

Rubbing his face 0d7244a646 roughly, Yesung murmured edeeefc8e9 to Joohyuk.f73c4019a0f2a40a

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“Joohyuk.”73145dae511b70d3

“Yes, sunbae?”42bb292010b89a5e

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“Is cardiothoracic d9cc4533d8 surgery… not db23ae3083 busy these ddcc8c75e8 days?”e1c558228ce06f23

Joohyuk, puzzled by the 05c192404a odd question, furrowed his 0d8e1140eb brows.92c4107fef934132

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The look on 21512750d8 Joohyuk’s face gave f1fc49784b Yesung the answer 66ffceb394 he needed, even c352f8359b without words.d71ef51968e88316

“…Right. Of course, they’re busy. They have 70bec6067d to be.”717e700d358420f7

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Letting out another 834eaf4f02 suppressed sigh, Yesung bb3ca356a0 leaned back in c20629b381 his chair and 07c23334d8 tilted his head, 3a565883ea accidentally catching the 9c6e8e6df2 glare of the ad82c06090 fluorescent lights above. He reflexively shut his d2080e1ca6 eyes tight and turned 9e95940e84 his face toward Joohyuk.96c75c523f14ca78

“Unless… have their surgery 9861c0ba4d schedules drastically decreased recently?”4d9cd4e65b31cb04

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The thought ab69e88ce4 seemed absurd, 83b6ed2a6e but he fd7356f5d3 had to fcdbd42f18 ask. Joohyuk shook 7d37c50824 his head 7a8c53ff7f firmly.63ad32cd9e7e90cc

“No way. Absolutely not.”c7fe6f9fd259c197

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“Yeah, I figured.”1c31f3176bd98696

Joohyuk’s confident denial drew 4b3df4f51a a faint, tired smile 5c0fe663ee from Yesung. There was no 7bf1b236d0 way Hageon could a0c15739ac have more free d34d7a83dd time than any de7495554f other cardiothoracic surgeon.54da33327d20bc12

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Or was there? Jung Hageon… 9469503180 what on d0f528d620 earth is 695ec067ec going on de2490a032 with you?c8914960a96923ea

Before he could 2e331a9f1c dwell further, his ba31ab7972 call phone buzzed. OBGYN was calling.755b48ee31a64049

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“Yes, this is 5775a8e543 Han Yesung.”48f7e65f586dbba7

“Hello, Doctor! This is ddf52051e6 Hong Naeun, b26cc91a38 an OBGYN dea0a31f7b resident. Can you 9ad37feead come right 9b22d1f881 away? We have a 2497a0dc5a newborn from a c3d7a5506d recent delivery with 91a485754c suspected imperforate anus. We need you 5295de2e30 to take a 52b64238f0 look.”f839de92a96c4cb4

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Barely five ec3c109b78 minutes into 57402da563 resting, Yesung b117c600b0 stood up, fc2cee7600 signaling to 4c77baaa29 Joohyuk to 042a1ab594 follow.2263d5a90b609230

“On my way.”9eabc56faed80553

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Work-life balance? What balance? In fields like theirs, 05b6f8e730 the term might as 6023d101c8 well be a joke.f57f4b4fbe0669a5

Dragging Joohyuk e68e4fb23a along, Yesung 65c7f1749f headed quickly 4fa280cb8c to the 2f78190382 obstetrics department.f8565c5742e5ad67

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***744587d97f2eb386

“Whew.”7f3d22121087216c

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Finally, after running 819ad6174b back and forth 41ca1fef72 through the hospital 440b8c6894 without a moment 8f118371bb to breathe, Yesung 10fa6bb4b9 had found a 8d8b949725 small window of 06b1d6b8a5 time to rest.9161c15743c0d6e7

“Since Dr. Seol is here, why eb2bb9fe1a don’t you take a d2a61c2a63 break and get some e076144f87 sleep for an hour 320f9476d6 or two?”bca59198755c493a

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Thanks to the thoughtful b8edc76ed3 suggestion from Professor Jin, 1fb2f01001 the head of pediatric b844f9579d surgery, Yesung found himself 2f75172f80 at the on-call room ef21df3a71 closest to the emergency 2c5fb9a0ca room. When he 93e915e977 opened the 7a6cb30a7d door, the 7a82636ae3 room was 9ae7d19680 miraculously empty.e5d7a1eabba0dcfa

“No one’s here. Nice, it’s quiet.”88ca2d1d77dbbd13

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There was no 08ea4dc453 need to put 4439dfba27 on a facade, d650c8a4ff no need to 5f0b1a0102 waste energy dealing c02b8287f5 with emotions. Yesung didn’t b9d506484c have a 6860305ac5 grand reason fbce1602c7 for masking 3b61eb8b53 his true 357f3f4c06 self and 3c26c80e49 acting as a0c624b0ca people expected 814fa33273 him to. It was 13ce3ef286 simply easier 116aadd2ae that way. Playing along 14a1484d5a with what 22d5d97d78 others wanted ead33ccf7c usually worked 621c94bd9e to his 659f892619 advantage.0bc2caf53c79e2e1

Yesung was an eabedd8aad orphan—not always, but 391eb7d458 he became one 86c7ad58a7 after losing his 9a09324c59 parents in an 970067e434 accident as a d4195a9e48 child. With no relatives willing 902f4bdbf4 to take him in, 4b44ad5a60 he was sent to 05d7dcdf9d an orphanage. It was b0a281d0c9 there that 865c50618e he learned 61c73763e9 a life 216a6ac888 principle that f559dc14f8 he still 967eabe5a4 lived by:120c09231962932c

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Adults love “well-behaved c30bf5f73d kids with pretty 39395bf5f4 faces.” And it c88049d856 wasn’t just adults. His peers 371ccf8383 weren’t much e336718d08 different.a17a38b186254139

Once he understood this, cd4aa76b50 Yesung began to leverage 357a35e819 what others often called 924cd6575d his “handsome features.” After 752ec80f27 all, apart from his b759a996b1 looks, he had nothing a5317dd5d9 else to rely on 31690b02d0 in the cutthroat world. Besides, he 70c8e38037 realized just 88c14c7ee3 how powerful 4066129935 that weapon a3a87eb9a7 could be.828a244e4ff23f73

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Society would 0f494faa58 describe him a795a0ee65 as a e20f421e99 “cold beauty,” 8b1463e163 someone whose 4b7f028222 aloofness created c92bc7656b a wall. Yet even a faint 80c2467b6d smile from him would a31ddf9d7a flip the narrative instantly. People found him likable, b392d80f07 and his gentle demeanor fe1d000bd8 won hearts with ease.af35a61c2f878273

On top 58aa4a72c4 of that, be8626db39 being a 20c1f3453b “studious orphan a5a505252a with good c999bef2c5 grades” softened b260f0a678 even the 9e21ab629f sharpest criticisms. While some b63185e280 might talk a4fe6a5277 behind his f1d0065d61 back, no 6893bb3fb4 one dared 0d5b3df5db insult him 340c78561f to his db4d523a6f face. Around this time, aeb724b9ea Yesung mastered the 159112691e art of subtly 9762e4b90d manipulating people with b2452fa3d3 the goodwill he 101cb8faec had earned.5fa937277600f8a9

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He blended e5dbc02d1a into society, 37ce639339 gaining influence c70839ed04 while avoiding 1db4051969 the pitfall dcff75d668 of becoming 578b44ef31 someone who b17252872f anxiously sought a4cd8abcac validation. It was easy e2aa1980e4 to control others 8ec5c94602 with a few e3665ca49a smiles and carefully 1cd1437343 placed gestures. For example, in 1953a3f2e2 school, people would d2fea0656c panic at the 9dacf04d1e thought of losing 226f6713ef access to his 06745dd535 well-written notes or 52678c0853 study guides.28f61a885dfb76e6

They didn’t 927083862c realize how eb69a3af8b pathetic they ddb3ea1491 looked, desperately eef675bb62 clinging to cd068b211c his favor.09f292d7c7493117

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“I’m exhausted…”b1a28b02ed5902c2

Yesung slumped into a 5e65c14b32 chair near a desk, fac65cc773 too tired to walk 7dcecca941 further to the bed 75439c931f at the back of 73cad02e1d the room. Everything felt like too 707e8e8f88 much effort. Maintaining relationships was rewarding 162a33a43a but draining. It wasn’t the add5a5ff16 kids but the 0e0fecd87c so-called adults who bc531dab18 wore him out 688a26f4c3 the most.943d3fcd5b9a300d

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Before coming here, f2af9a24e8 he had to 34de6b3bbe deal with a 68ba086574 parent grabbing him 3a34486f51 by the collar.5b7a953e781300f1

“Hey, do you 1edddf37d4 know who I 2611a5ae44 am?! My uncle’s second cousin’s 73262c7800 nephew knows the hospital 9975734f35 director! And you’re telling fb3ae25e74 me to wait? My kid should be 1f418198d3 treated right now!”a52b0f121a1ec0ce

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A second cousin’s nephew? Practically a stranger. Yet these kinds d5cd899703 of parents were 65c9212220 everywhere, always singing 89beecc5f4 the same tune.b11e8839a0c31514

When a security guard b873179d38 rushed in to pull 79125710f5 the parent off him, d4fd840e5b Yesung attended to the 80cf5ceeb4 child—only to discover a 503c796e3f minor paper cut about 8bcba7760e 0.3 cm deep.6cd97c1f1de5aece

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“This should 5b360ae83f be fine 530daf214c with just 47abe95df4 some disinfectant,” 70f6ce18a3 he had 2688e3fa70 said.36424fab1cdc0ab7

The parent, satisfied 8acbc9ab7b with getting their 59d9567cd3 way, left the 30ddf060b1 ER without even 1289f28924 a word of fe6e1b366d thanks. Incidents like this were f8a358f785 all too common, leaving 70bc67e4b0 Yesung’s ears ringing and cfa81b82b5 his head spinning.1e3662f31fa8121a

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“Residency was already hard 8430b5039a enough…” he muttered, covering 263758f08a his eyes with his 3be2338008 arm.f4504ce853d1cd2b

Being a fellow 76d15a6db2 was somehow even 19144931b6 harder. He’d thought earning his 923afeb09b specialist license might ease 4e46987905 the burden, but pediatric da852aac17 surgeons were in short 35bb2907c3 supply—less than 50 nationwide. Hanguk University Hospital cb237e998a was relatively fortunate, 72ce307512 with five pediatric 6178c4c571 surgeons, including Yesung.4de557d150d103c6

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