24ES | Chapter 10.1

“Who’s the next patient?”

“A two-year-old boy. He’s Seon Ahjun’s patient.”

“Alright. Please let Ahjun and his guardians come in.”

“Okay.”

Following Yesung’s instructions, the nurse holding the chart moved. It wasn’t long before the door, which had been closed, slid open and the guardians entered the consulting room.

“Hello, doctor.”

“Hello. You must be Seon Ahjun’s guardian, right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”

“What brings you here today?”

Yesung, who had been looking at the computer, shifted his gaze to the guardian holding the patient. In her arms was a baby who seemed to have just turned one year old.

The hospital was unfamiliar to him, and the tiny, adorable fist clutching his mother’s clothes made the corners of his mouth curl up involuntarily. Watching Yesung’s picture-perfect smile, the guardian quickly spoke up.

“We were changing his diaper as usual when Ahjun went pee. His dad said that something seemed off around Ahjun’s groin, and when I checked, indeed, there was something bulging on the right side of his groin.”

“Hmm… shall we lay Ahjun down on the bed over there for a moment?”

The nurse guided the guardians. Yesung also stood up and headed towards the portable bed.

“Let’s take off Ahjun’s pants and diaper for a moment.”

“Okay.”

“You said it was on the right side?”

“Yes, yes, on the right.”

“Ahjun~ the doctor will take a quick look now.”

With skilled hands, without needing the nurse’s help, Yesung removed the child’s pants and diaper and examined the affected area. As the guardian had mentioned, there was a bulge on the right side of the groin.

After pressing on the area a few times, Yesung straightened up.

“Did you bring a fresh diaper for Ahjun?”

“Uh? Ah… yes!”

“Can you hand it over?”

Caught off guard by the sudden request, the guardian hurriedly rummaged through the diaper bag.

“Here, here you go.”

Receiving a new diaper from the flustered guardian, Yesung bent down.

“Ahjun must have been embarrassed with so many people around. I’ll quickly change him back into his clothes.”

“Uh, um… I could do that, doctor…”

“It’s alright, ma’am. I’ll do it.”

Yesung reassured the bewildered guardian with a smile as he swiftly fitted the new diaper and dressed the child.

Before the child could even start crying from the unfamiliar touch, Yesung had finished. The baby lay there, eyes wide open, seemingly unaware of what had just happened. The guardians couldn’t help but admire Yesung’s quick and adept hands.

It almost felt like he was performing a magic trick.

“As if he could receive applause just by being left alone, Yesung quickly spoke up.

“Now, ma’am, please hold Ahjun again.”

“Ah… yes, yes, doctor.”

“Why don’t you sit down and I’ll explain?”

“Yes.”

From the moment they entered the consulting room, their eyes filled with skepticism had turned into glowing trust. It would be a lie to say he hadn’t aimed for that, but Yesung showed no signs of it as he returned to his seat.

“So, Ahjun has a…”

“An inguinal hernia?”

The guardian jumped ahead before Yesung could speak. She seemed calm up until now, but was she actually impatient? Her sudden question made Yesung close his mouth, and blinking rapidly, she quickly apologized.

“Sorry, doctor. I got ahead of myself… Seeing these symptoms suddenly made me anxious, so I asked about Ahjun’s condition in a mom’s forum before coming to the hospital. It’s our first time raising a child…”

How could he not understand her feelings? It must have been confusing not knowing what to do. In such situations, a mom’s forum was the easiest place for her to seek help.

It wasn’t just about diagnosing illnesses. They also shared prescriptions, treatment methods, and which doctors at which hospitals were good. As a pediatric surgeon, Yesung had been living with this reality for years, so none of this surprised him anymore.

Yesung responded with a smile.

“Yes, Ahjun does have an inguinal hernia, ma’am.”

“Ah, I thought so…”

Seeing the relief wash over her as her suspicions were confirmed, Yesung continued.

“Since you’ve already looked into it, our conversation will be smoother. Inguinal hernias in boys are quite common. The treatment will involve surgery. It’s not urgent unless there are symptoms like pain, so there’s no need to rush. The surgery isn’t complicated either. You can think of it as a relatively simple procedure.”

Yesung’s eyes moved to the monitor.

“We can schedule the surgery for two weeks from now, how does that sound?”

“Two weeks…”

The mother exchanged looks with the father who had come along, then her gaze returned to Yesung.

“Yes, that sounds good. Will you be handling Ahjun’s surgery from start to finish?”

“That’s the plan. If you’re worried about my skills or feel uncomfortable, you can always ask a professor to take over.”

Yesung was still a fellow. Although he was qualified to conduct his own clinics once a week, he wasn’t yet a professor. Inguinal hernias were so common that Yesung had handled many such cases, but he understood the guardians’ perspective. That’s why he had said that.

“It’s ultimately the guardian’s choice who the attending doctor is.”

The mother quickly waved her hands.

“No, no! Please, I want you to do it. You were so gentle with Ahjun when you changed his diaper… Ahjun’s dad and I feel the same. We specifically want you, doctor.”

The guardian’s repeated insistence that it had to be Yesung, or it wouldn’t work, elicited a smile from him.

“Alright. I understand. I’ll take good care of Ahjun from start to finish. Shall we see each other in two weeks?”

“Yes, yes.”

As the mother stood up, still dazed and watching Yesung’s smiling face, the father sent disapproving looks her way, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Yesung until they left the consulting room.

“Thank you, doctor. We’ll see you in two weeks.”

“Take care, both of you. Bye, Ahjun~ take care.”

As Yesung waved goodbye to Ahjun, the door closed behind the guardians. Towards the guardians, it was a gesture of politeness; towards Ahjun, it was a genuine smile. Yesung’s smile faded as he turned to the nurse standing behind him.

“Was Seon Ahjun our last outpatient for today?”

“Yes. There are no more. You’ve worked hard today, Dr. Han.”

“You’ve worked hard too, Nurse Kim.”

As Yesung stood up and turned his gaze outside, the nurse who was preparing to leave the consulting room also looked out the window.

“Ugh. The news kept saying the monsoon is coming. It really might happen. It’s been like this all the time.”

The nurse’s lament filled the quiet consulting room. Yesung silently stared at the sky. Dark clouds were ominously gathering, looking ready to burst open any moment.

Staring blankly at the storm clouds covering the sky, Yesung murmured.

“It does look like the monsoon is coming.”

Time had passed significantly since the last day off. It had been so long since he had last rested at home that he couldn’t even remember when it was. Maybe that was why. Up until just now, he had been sharp in his consultations, but there was a subtly off air about Yesung today that made the pediatric nurse tilt her head.

“Hmm? Dr. Han, is something bothering you lately?”

“…What?”

Yesung’s gaze, which had been fixed on the dark clouds, now turned towards the nurse, blinking in confusion. He definitely looked like he was missing a screw.

“You know, Dr. Han. You’ve been zoning out quite often lately. When you do, you seem low on energy. Like a doll with its strings cut.”

“Did I seem that way?” Yesung blinked blankly. Then the nurse sent him a worried look.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve been at the hospital all the time recently? Haven’t been able to go home, haven’t really had a chance to rest.”

It was a reasonable suggestion. Indeed, with all the emergency surgeries and whatnot, it had been a long time since he’d been home. Yesung had been treating the hospital like his second home.

Worry was clearly etched on the face looking up at Yesung. He forced a slight smile.

“Maybe that’s it. I haven’t really rested lately, so I’m a bit tired. And a bit out of it.”

“Ugh, I thought so, Dr. Han. What are we going to do… you really need to rest. And with the weather like this, it makes people feel even more down.”

Tsk, tsk, the nurse clicked her tongue. She resentfully stared at the sky, which seemed ready to pour down rain at any moment. Yesung joined her, looking out the window.

“They should just pour it down already if they’re going to make everyone so sleepy!”

“If it rains… maybe a typhoon will come too?”

The discomfort index was high, and the nurse kept voicing her grievances about the weather. Listening to her grumbles, Yesung asked, making the nurse look at him curiously.

“Right? The start of the monsoon also means that the season has fully transitioned into summer, right?”

Indeed, that was the case. After the monsoon, naturally, comes the typhoon. A natural disaster that’s inevitable during summer, something beyond human control.

Thunder rumbled outside the window as the dark clouds moved ominously. Yesung remained silent, knowing the nurse was looking at him strangely, but she would think it was just because he was tired.

A gloomy light flickered in Yesung’s eyes. His pupils wavered uneasily as he gazed at the storm clouds.

After leaving the consulting room, Yesung headed straight to the main building’s third floor, where the general pediatric ward was located. Though he had completed all scheduled outpatient appointments for the day, his work wasn’t done yet.

Yesung moved towards the ward with familiarity. As he opened the door and entered, a child whose eyes were wide open greeted him. But the child was not alone.

“Doctor!”

“Sunbae.”

Following the hearty greeting, the voice of Jung Hageon, who had arrived at the ward before Yesung, followed. Surprised, Yesung’s eyes widened as he approached the bed.

“What’s going on, Seungchae? Where’s your mom? Why is the doctor who did your chest surgery here with you?”

However, it was not the child but Jung Hageon who answered.

“She had some urgent business to attend to. I told her I’d stay with Seungchae for a while, so she could go.”

“That’s right! Mom went to the bank! So Chest-sunbae said he’d stay with me instead!”

“Is that so?”

Yesung’s lips, which had been drooping, now sprang up as if they had never been down. He leaned down to meet Seungchae’s gaze.

“So, Seungchae. You’re responding so energetically, looks like you’re in great condition today. No pain anywhere?”

“Yes! I’m going to be discharged from the hospital soon, so I feel really great, doctor!”