24ES | Chapter 8.1

Time slipped away as Yesung failed to come to a decision about his worries. The hospital remained as busy as ever, which was actually a good thing. It left no time to dwell on unresolved concerns. If there was time to spare, it was far more productive to spend it taking care of another patient.

“Doctor! It’s Im Dowoon! An 11-year-old boy, the injury isn’t severe so his vitals are stable, but he has an open fracture on his right arm! ETA 7 minutes!”

“Open fracture, got it. I’ll be right there, Doctor Im! Call orthopedics!”

“Got it!”

After hanging up, Yesung hurried to the emergency room. Im Dowoon, who had called him, was waiting and ran over as he arrived.

“Where’s the patient?”

“Over there!”

Following Im Dowoon’s lead, Yesung reached the bed where the patient was and drew back the curtain. A guardian sitting beside the bed stood up abruptly.

“Ah, hello… Doctor.”

“Hello, ma’am. Let me take a quick look.”

Yesung bent over to examine the boy’s injury.

“The forearm bone is broken. How did this happen?”

The bone had pierced through the skin, but fortunately, the injury wasn’t as severe as he had anticipated. Checking the fingertips for vascular damage, Yesung looked up as the guardian replied.

“He fell off his bike…”

“Was he not wearing any protective gear?”

Yesung’s gaze shifted to the boy on the bed. The kid bit his lip slightly and then released it, nodding.

“…Yes.”

“When riding a bike, you must wear protective gear, especially on your head. If you don’t, you end up in the hospital with serious injuries like today. Got it?”

“Yes… I’ll make sure to wear it from now on.”

“Good.”

Yesung smiled and patted the boy’s head, then straightened up as Im Dowoon muttered beside him.

“Just from the look of it, it seems like both the radius and ulna might be broken.”

“…We’ll know for sure after an X-ray. Doctor Im, you have a good eye.”

After his emergency shift ended, Im Dowoon, who often dealt with trauma patients, had either honed his observational skills or had been studying further, making quite a sharp remark.

“Ah, thank you! Should I set up a line¹ then?”

Definitely showing a sense of how to work, he blushed at the compliment but didn’t forget what he needed to do next. Even without any specific instructions from Yesung, he already knew what his next steps should be.

Yesung nodded.

“We might have vascular damage² and we need to administer antibiotics, so let’s set up a central line.”

“Yes!”

With Im Dowoon’s assistance, Yesung quickly set up an IV line.

“Doctor Im, could you get some gauze and normal saline? And while you’re at it, arrange for an emergency X-ray.”

“Yes, Doctor!”

As Im Dowoon scurried out with the curtain fluttering behind him, Yesung watched with satisfaction.

“Inwoo, can you try moving your injured arm, just your shoulder and hand?”

“Uh… Yes.”

“How is it? Does it hurt every time you move? Can you move your hand well?”

“Yes, it hurts every time I move, but I can move it well. Ah…”

The child let out a pained cry as Yesung verified the movement in the injured arm, then turned to the guardian.

“Inwoo mother, I won’t know the full extent until we’ve done an X-ray, but it looks like the bone has broken through the skin.”

“Ah! I keep telling him to be more careful! Always wear protective gear! It’s okay, right, Doctor?”

The guardian’s palm came down hard on the child’s other arm, the uninjured one. Im Dowoon, just returned, intervened saying, “Ma’am, please don’t do that.”

Yesung just smiled faintly.

“Well… fortunately, it looks like there’s no major vascular or nerve damage, but since it’s an open fracture, there’s a risk of infection. There could be other issues, but infection is the biggest concern right now. Has Inwoo had a tetanus shot in the last five years?”

“Uh… no, I don’t think so.”

“Then we’ll proceed with the X-ray as quickly as possible, clean the wound, and give him a tetanus shot. Doctor Im, the gauze and normal saline, please.”

“Yes!”

After covering the wound with saline-soaked gauze, Yesung watched as Im Dowoon, quick to catch on, didn’t even need to be asked.

“The X-ray can be done right now, Doctor. You can move him there.”

“Got it.”

“Ah! Really, this kid!”

As a rough exclamation burst from the guardian, Yesung moved on, accustomed to such situations. Im Dowoon tactfully supported him.

“Ma’am, please come this way.”

“Ah, really! It’s this kid’s fault I can’t live a peaceful life!”

Knowing the curses were based in affection, Yesung proceeded to wrap up the X-ray and returned. The results came quickly since it was an emergency. Im Dowoon was already at the monitor when Yesung joined him to check the images.

“Ah… just as expected.”

“That’s right. Both the radius and ulna are broken, just like Doctor Im said. But, Doctor Im.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you call orthopedics? They should have been here by now. Are they in the OR?”

“Ah, no. When I called, they said they’d come right away… but actually…”

As Im Dowoon nervously fidgeted, looking like a dog needing to relieve itself, the sought-after orthopedic surgeon finally arrived. Seeing him, Yesung understood why Im Dowoon had been so anxious.

“Uh… I was about to tell you.”

A whisper-like murmur came from beside him. Without needing to grimace, Yesung narrowed his eyes slightly after seeing the nametag.

“Uh… um. Hello, Doctor Han. You got here quickly.”

The greeting was awkward to the doctor, none other than Jang Kihyun, whom they had massively criticized at the welcome party for Jung Hageon at the bar.

Jin Kangin. A name well-known to anyone at Hanguk University Hospital. The presence of this renowned individual was unexpected.

Where had Jang Kihyun, too precious to even compare with Jin Kangin, gone? And with so many residents in orthopedics, why was it that all of them had disappeared and just he had come…

Glancing at his watch, Yesung replied coldly.

“That’s right. It’s been over 15 minutes since Doctor Im called.”

If it had been any other doctor, there might have been a reasonable explanation for not responding quickly to the call. Or perhaps Im Dowoon would have already known.

As the atmosphere turned frosty, Im Dowoon leaned close and whispered to Yesung.

“I’m… really sorry, Doctor. There was a collapse at a construction site today, and with emergencies piling up in the OS, almost all the doctors had to enter surgery. That left only Doctor Jin available…”

His voice was quiet and fast, like a rapper’s, and he wisely turned his back to Jin Kangin, ensuring he wouldn’t overhear.

Understanding the full story, Yesung sighed deeply and nodded at Im Dowoon, signaling him to take care of the patient.

“Go clean and disinfect the wound quickly!”

Im Dowoon nodded sharply and rushed off. Yesung then turned the monitor towards Jin Kangin.

“Hello, Doctor Jin. You’ve been briefed by Doctor Im, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

Unable to trust the response, especially given who it was from, Yesung decided to take the slightly tedious route and explain everything again.

“He’s an 11-year-old boy who fell off his bike. As you can see, both his radius and ulna are broken on his right arm. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any nerve or vascular damage. I think we can realign the bones manually, prescribe antibiotics to address the risk of infection, admit him, and monitor his progress. What’s your opinion, Doctor Jin?”

The explanation was practically spoon-feeding the answer. Jin Kangin stared intensely at the monitor.

“Hmm… yeah. Shall we proceed with manual reduction?”

Why did that sound like a question? Why was he even asking Yesung? He was a pediatric surgeon, not an orthopedic specialist.

This was driving him crazy.

Judging by Jin Kangin’s doubtful expression, he looked like he was about to pull out his phone and call his professor for confirmation. The rumors about him didn’t quite capture just how infuriating this situation was. Perhaps the other orthopedic doctors had shielded him from dealing with Jin Kangin until now, but this was the first time Yesung had faced him directly.

Trusting him felt impossible. Manual bone reduction was something first-year residents learned. Was it really safe to leave the patient in his hands?

Especially since this was a pediatric case, extra caution was necessary.

“One moment, Doctor Jin.”

“Yes.”

Yesung excused himself and stepped a few paces away to make a phone call. The recipient was Jang Kihyun, an orthopedic fellow.

“Hello, Doctor Han? What’s the occasion?”

“Doctor Jang, I’ve got an 11-year-old boy here. Fell off his bike, right arm open fracture. Both the radius and ulna are broken, but thankfully, there’s no significant nerve or vascular damage.”

“Okay.”

“I think it’s best to realign the bones, admit him, and monitor the condition before deciding on surgery. The orthopedic doctor who’s come down to the ER is Doctor Jin Kangin.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line. Yesung stifled a sigh.

“…So, Doctor Jang, could you come down here? How much longer will your surgery take?”

“Ah… that’s the thing. It’s going to take quite a while longer…”

Yesung raked a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Then can you send someone else? Maybe Doctor Dunt, the second-year resident?”

“That’s not going to work either, Doctor Han… The construction site collapse brought in a flood of critical cases. We’re all overwhelmed as it is.”