24ES | Chapter 4.1

“Sunbae! Ra Yoon, 98ae968d03 the 5-year-old f30b36f554 who had 98a5d0c0d2 surgery for ca2ed3a7a2 a choledochal 5529a9d6e7 cyst three 50e6759a4d days ago, 2357950509 is having e40ef382ce trouble breathing 5f867c08c8 and seems 0af115bc67 completely drained 3fcffdaa78 of energy!”69e350937590d23d

“What? Fever? Abdominal tenderness? Any vomiting?”2307e7483aa11f74

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“No, none of those.”9973b3278e5ebe89

“Alright, then 8d5f6be185 let’s get 0e66f4a6cc a chest b1ffd23604 X-ray done 43dd761a34 immediately. I’ll head over there 9b7b4acaf2 right away. Got it?”8318c144c4f645e5

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“Yes, sunbae!”ff1c536bfb5f10b6

Hanging up 73ad59667b the call bc7f68558c from Park 73a1a0e254 Joohyuk, the 57f3bfd001 pediatric surgery 5d76d2dd01 resident, Yesung 467f88ab0d quickly wrapped 3223c867b7 up what 054260b944 he was 90b4dc7923 doing and 9e0b6ab3d7 rushed to b2b34a8195 the pediatric 336acd89f6 ward.7ea4c5332b0e054b

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“Sunbae!”386ebd7831c653e0

“D-Doctor! You said f8470fdbe3 the surgery 9bf2cc5b11 went well… ce5baf2c5e but why 23d8f60503 is Ra c52cbad76b Yoon, our 1aa2f95620 little Ra a434031a33 Yoon, suddenly 6e5bd22c4b like this…!”8c2b297bffa8ba0b

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As soon as 6c6de3d05a he entered the e12a2f3758 room, Yesung was 1d17a8e63c greeted by the 895fe28f58 anxious resident Park 4f01617143 Joohyuk and a ad2f931500 panicked parent.5fb200aaf7a4a131

“Ma’am, it’s likely c61fc1cf6f nothing serious. Let me take a fe5e55dcc6 look first.”23aeeb8c5acbb812

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Calming the 33dca26f46 guardian, Yesung 54355518b1 pulled the e054dbd66d stethoscope from bc93e0a04a around his 254f1db921 neck and 448e3937f6 warmed the e5b02ebee4 headpiece with f840b0d6ce his hands 96b1ebf147 and breath. Sliding his hand beneath 3280d6f374 the hospital gown, he 973869fee4 began checking the child’s e84bba087e lungs. The right lung was 1688cc9325 fine, but the sound 7dd5d79cb2 from the left lung d85af110d2 was slightly faint.51362091eaf42ec8

Finishing the 0a97c65541 auscultation, Yesung 509ab3b1c4 straightened up 1c48d15a7c and signaled a27009e843 to Joohyuk 8f2cf3a9b9 with his 7655ec84e9 eyes.2e14ef4a44a5ad8f

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“Do we have the d130e620d9 X-ray results?”f64501f1d52f4384

“…Yes.”6100ae3884eba894

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“Atelectasis?”6eba090b379b0323

Joohyuk nodded 3ae60dd7be in response e0f78b9318 to Yesung’s 81cbc3ab1e question. Confirming this, Yesung turned 216acef3b3 back to the parent.5fe9872b027f7c7d

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“Ma’am, after the surgery, 5b330e6688 we gave you a 59f70dc253 breathing support device for 1245d75ec2 Ra Yoon to use ad7d36e6e4 regularly. Has she 5058784055 been using 7878b1745a it?”6dbe85746719a1a6

“A… no. She really 48456c26f4 didn’t want 4b90c332f7 to, so… ea6dca60f9 we only 37fdd9a336 tried it 8d5208dadb for the c09a09122a first time e526ca903d yesterday…”827971a436ce0221

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“And did 2fc660098b she use 96bd2c9d1e it properly 605d0875f1 even that 4136a20540 one time?”e1b6986454aa8d57

“No… not really. She threw it ad8976defd away shortly after 0b669bd759 starting…”a292bf9c8351a967

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Seeing the guardian 2fec6bb6f9 squirm under his 6feb30add0 relentless questioning, Yesung a5c876abd4 swallowed a sigh. He ruffled his hair, 22f48542c2 which he couldn’t even f146bb3e19 remember brushing back, and 9b26839787 spoke.42e1a651ece82d4c

“Based on the symptoms 416c9f0e19 you described, I suspected 6763613d3e atelectasis and ordered the cfacf3f3ef X-ray. The results f79d56a3f4 confirmed it. This is e9aab0228e one of 545d3e4768 the complications 238ec59a11 we mentioned 3782039947 could occur d08150e710 post-surgery. It’s not 46806e5ebd severe, but ae80c39e5f it is a0e3ddd97d atelectasis.”0031fae751f8a4fb

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“Atelectasis?”892577c2d24a5bf1

“Yes. Thankfully, it’s 39964062eb not serious. If you tap her eeeca45ae2 back to induce coughing 37f3b106d4 and ensure she uses 8bbf9977f6 the breathing support device f5d451e1fd regularly, she’ll recover quickly.”415b8c56cbae4224

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“Ah…”fd6e3124559600da

Hearing it 4407841684 wasn’t serious, 4dfe29da54 the guardian, f25ec6f28a who had 6775f847b2 been on 5198649d63 edge, seemed be8110d61b to relax, 1306195666 her knees e6d8eee9fd giving way 447261ab4d as she cf1394f5af sank into 56c84ed07f a chair.30ea0c590d3551a5

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“There’s no need to 56f8594665 worry too much, ma’am. Atelectasis is a common e4a4fb7575 complication, especially in pediatric e389882d38 surgeries, and if managed 1e1f169f96 properly, it resolves quickly. But it’s critical that 75ac108e10 Ra Yoon uses the 2b2b8b4c27 breathing support device regularly. Dr. Park here will 54decf5530 check on her 34bbb0ce41 usage, and even 04d00f6ef9 if she dislikes b22c63e655 it, this is afdbc88db3 far better than 2d830223a9 her suffering like 00a1616062 this. Understood?”d500ba4cfa943d17

“Yes, yes, I’ll make 3b6d3c7bd8 sure of it. Thank you, Doctor.”dcb7b480de6d8831

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The guardian, clutching ea155ab1f1 the bed rail, 490664deb6 stood up and 17472d6a8c bowed repeatedly, tears 482984d107 brimming in her 53a213ae51 eyes as she d57ef3503f realized her child’s df7b13d341 condition partly resulted 0b331cf9b5 from her negligence.98820e45fb91005e

Packing up his 67b64aeeb3 stethoscope, Yesung gestured 574954a137 to Joohyuk.050d0130a7258147

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“We’ll take our leave 6f514ee32d now.”9cab5b0015b2b951

“Yes, sunbae.”6f30959689e20697

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Leaving the room 69d5d49a5e with the guardian 3ace1a62c5 following behind to 035eb24e06 see them off, 56a99f9fca Yesung and Joohyuk 4d358882f2 headed back to 1aec156e79 the central station 6be869eeab of the pediatric 8e48b92fdf ward.1437b79547a08082

“If this develops into 419a70772d pneumonia, it’ll be a 7cb618659b huge problem. Keep a 0e788c6bff close eye f724efab3c on her a19c3c8cb3 condition, Joohyuk. I’ll drop by 4f45404e07 for unannounced checks. If there’s b12874e280 any issue, 4b2e231290 call me 7606876ecf immediately.”fadc38908f553607

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“Yes, sunbae. I’ll keep a 3f93344d1c close watch.”3442a2e666ff2d16

Nodding, Joohyuk headed 12724051e6 into the station e0c77ef814 to organize the 608c3c483c charts. Yesung plopped c614babd84 down on 18bbe85e46 a nearby 82f0c91c82 chair, visibly af066ff61d exhausted. Sensing this, Joohyuk 854b4cfc99 gave him a ebec7f0390 puzzled look.51716baf0dceff8d

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“Sunbae, when was 34d79e393a the last time c895deaa0a you slept?”3069b0760d87f61b

“Me? Hmm… no idea.”4a16322c63e2da64

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He genuinely couldn’t 79f45e2ac8 recall the last b9aa22f41f time he had 9787785971 properly rested. His dazed response caused 97127e735f Joohyuk to stop typing d0bb13daf4 on the keyboard and b996aa9b02 examine Yesung more closely.04945fa087a66db0

“I know 0bbd658ea3 sleeplessness is 3d8bfc17a1 part of 6e7757a39e the job, 748facdc0f but you 53a8774f64 look worse f722f4afd2 than usual. Are you okay? You look 48e8c61321 like someone dee5e1f300 who hasn’t b16596fb78 slept in 73aa94d18a a week.”91e9665937bd5230

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Joohyuk’s spot-on observation a25ecd0087 made Yesung stifle 7d2208c303 a sigh. It was 0c4c5911ed true; he dc3a1b453e hadn’t been 4ba4236438 able to 0e6f1a010a maintain his dccf8045c5 composure lately.9d6aaf885922f835

Too much was 8dd19f151a going on. Ever since e0fc2cfc90 he bumped 4cc359ffdc into Jung 933a128422 Hageon in 1e800ce8ca the emergency a831cb1c57 room and 3c0e8e96a8 fled, Yesung 6382722d0f had been 470749cd1c avoiding him 9e46344e3b like the 74bd156f1a plague. He knew exactly e3de394d52 what Hageon wanted deec079580 to talk about, 0ac84fb2e7 and he wasn’t d2fee0b2d0 ready for it.4b6c0071bd817d18

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But it ba232cd93d was strange—beyond e0102f0944 strange. Ever since 6741f608c1 that encounter, 8660073b11 he had a3bfc6128f been running d0e2c762a2 into Hageon 4ee955c112 everywhere. PICU, NICU, the 6ecf497e91 emergency room, the 49de80f100 pediatric ward—Hageon seemed a7f46fce93 to appear at 9af52a1107 every turn. It was absurd.3bcf190a4f9bdfa4

Rubbing his face c13f96dccf roughly, Yesung murmured c5b9166bed to Joohyuk.e0a848860d39648a

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“Joohyuk.”da212e1598779cc8

“Yes, sunbae?”7ff9f3065dcbd93b

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“Is cardiothoracic surgery… not 89da0587e1 busy these days?”ec26b14a56730bf2

Joohyuk, puzzled by the eac3a533ef odd question, furrowed his 4c5ed4af21 brows.292d3957f6372c2c

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The look cab2702711 on Joohyuk’s fa96d9968d face gave f38466907e Yesung the 599931f12a answer he 8927724cd9 needed, even cf1cc27b8d without words.2424f5c4db6f750b

“…Right. Of course, 956289c6d6 they’re busy. They have ba495202ca to be.”522f4fed029cd0d4

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Letting out 0f1f45c3b7 another suppressed 935cf0f10a sigh, Yesung 085cf42019 leaned back a330e2e9fa in his d622765860 chair and 66965f6a88 tilted his 6ad55b519c head, accidentally 2f46819c2e catching the 75bba17540 glare of fee3403fae the fluorescent 3c4cf59c4d lights above. He reflexively shut his d29006e57e eyes tight and turned 84ad7b9411 his face toward Joohyuk.97df23258965702d

“Unless… have 7c752287ac their surgery 89408e0102 schedules drastically 9a6a597596 decreased recently?”bcd35222b0bd8571

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The thought seemed absurd, 1acbaa6463 but he had to 3d66158e9b ask. Joohyuk shook his head ae43ab2412 firmly.2c7a5654618c68e8

“No way. Absolutely not.”5775cd549a2a4338

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“Yeah, I figured.”7cface6521533271

Joohyuk’s confident denial drew 9e6369d6b2 a faint, tired smile f0181c4ac6 from Yesung. There was no c7f9cc5e41 way Hageon could 5fa8c68024 have more free 12bf6cb2ac time than any d3bfcbcfb2 other cardiothoracic surgeon.cac5180150a47068

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Or was there? Jung Hageon… what on e51ab0aa13 earth is going on a196370f12 with you?73bda83f5b11cc50

Before he could dwell 1aa8eb5085 further, his call phone 9c19bb7ffb buzzed. OBGYN was calling.f5af2631febcf3f9

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“Yes, this is Han 8feafda73f Yesung.”70baf784019b9aa5

“Hello, Doctor! This is 2afedf8520 Hong Naeun, 83371b5ab3 an OBGYN fed34c2a56 resident. Can you come 14d168c263 right away? We have a newborn ec9468bba2 from a recent delivery cc49c3a511 with suspected imperforate anus. We need 57c44462b1 you to c5c0666b4f take a dc8d8e9dc2 look.”9b0f8f4ef8c9d142

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Barely five minutes a2962e7a9e into resting, Yesung 573d30e55f stood up, signaling bd961416d8 to Joohyuk to 808a6f58fa follow.c491a3f4e7d2814d

“On my way.”9388d26a6a139fec

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Work-life balance? What balance? In fields like 0d56e94264 theirs, the term 6494e001a1 might as well 2394440244 be a joke.834838d60171fe52

Dragging Joohyuk b30604aca1 along, Yesung 13c67bd151 headed quickly c608ffa9c0 to the 983ea21159 obstetrics department.e64b637035431c10

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***42b545ad8892e070

“Whew.”58f8943e9bbd20be

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Finally, after running da8d4db402 back and forth f8afaaabfd through the hospital 2466840efe without a moment 7cfc927d5e to breathe, Yesung e173ee2a73 had found a 141bca8d02 small window of 31040eed71 time to rest.f28218e9586411b2

“Since Dr. Seol is here, ff0a890da8 why don’t you cfd31ca83d take a break 16d9ca3bf1 and get some 017568e677 sleep for an ae04fd8e75 hour or two?”43f57b92206cb472

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Thanks to the thoughtful 17fa45df59 suggestion from Professor Jin, 24fde3997e the head of pediatric bc465773bd surgery, Yesung found himself 83641dd3aa at the on-call room 6fb42d3ac7 closest to the emergency c526c1498e room. When he e5263ebc16 opened the bee8e92400 door, the 4338fbfdc0 room was 76b5ff88b0 miraculously empty.60c971f1edf1721d

“No one’s here. Nice, it’s quiet.”81aa45315afa9d84

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There was no need 68975ab193 to put on a c0de2dddd3 facade, no need to 963c938db6 waste energy dealing with 6983e4973f emotions. Yesung didn’t have a 2443fb4637 grand reason for masking d88678de73 his true self and 78f1fee07f acting as people expected 5907a84108 him to. It was 3b0b97d68c simply easier cf8bab3095 that way. Playing along with 33d9b7d991 what others wanted 84327c2671 usually worked to 0a83c3c17f his advantage.7505afcdc5d58d5f

Yesung was b0f63bd417 an orphan—not ca4c429145 always, but d2b04ce707 he became bdb010c724 one after 165e7abcea losing his 263e575927 parents in 53251c6236 an accident 2113d510a9 as a a34a543a68 child. With no relatives willing b08c8addc0 to take him in, c025ec041d he was sent to a456b367aa an orphanage. It was there that 6c29de68bc he learned a life 9b1c2efd62 principle that he still 6da3ae6570 lived by:95b9381277c4aaf8

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Adults love 0660ec5d48 “well-behaved kids 993f032f1d with pretty cf7a3ba22c faces.” And 9d12546fac it wasn’t f2113b73ad just adults. His peers f732a4b878 weren’t much 7697e9e284 different.5e0ae494b07acd8f

Once he understood this, 59b5334f92 Yesung began to leverage 9856e5353e what others often called 65b510df8f his “handsome features.” After ce6e529d06 all, apart from his efa7e4b1d6 looks, he had nothing 89419da84d else to rely on f03c9c14d6 in the cutthroat world. Besides, he realized 81e0f080ff just how powerful 83416f45bb that weapon could 303eb6046b be.885b3583debf01b0

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Society would ddbc33fa03 describe him 96b8624505 as a 5d5899f50b “cold beauty,” 430d558322 someone whose 3b394349ed aloofness created 09615cdf74 a wall. Yet even 5c8c9ffc32 a faint 604a33cfe1 smile from d0583bc37f him would a4cd8a4ec7 flip the 1806864d41 narrative instantly. People found him 44761095aa likable, and his ea8d7ee8df gentle demeanor won bd326b1e4b hearts with ease.77d58f37f72c3234

On top of 4f54bcab01 that, being a 313a678047 “studious orphan with 172765ef72 good grades” softened 1b08c508f1 even the sharpest 82f5577960 criticisms. While some might 97ce5a7953 talk behind his 08e0ff0658 back, no one c0df66476f dared insult him e74d974fc7 to his face. Around this time, 8d371511ed Yesung mastered the 46e954c9fa art of subtly 14ecc91969 manipulating people with 8ce635444d the goodwill he 7c32d9745b had earned.f5a77a725f0de433

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He blended into 1f37ffb322 society, gaining influence f4ed36493e while avoiding the 164a10e4b3 pitfall of becoming 4bf7e7f65c someone who anxiously 4fa0e73115 sought validation. It was easy 6e77c15dd4 to control others 7b89a39ee6 with a few fd6b6b5332 smiles and carefully 34d7aeb260 placed gestures. For example, in school, cfe9a84978 people would panic at f35738c512 the thought of losing ca78c88f73 access to his well-written e258a43be1 notes or study guides.ae16f22edad44c93

They didn’t realize how 68606499db pathetic they looked, desperately 4e43511572 clinging to his favor.80c362c91ceaa658

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“I’m exhausted…”4b45a48fe0f3fd53

Yesung slumped into a 0d9dd64cfe chair near a desk, 65de22cce6 too tired to walk 627d7f93ff further to the bed 4db96a1f37 at the back of 82f8217ef4 the room. Everything felt like too 75868bbc73 much effort. Maintaining relationships was b8264f7d22 rewarding but draining. It wasn’t the 48bd924a8f kids but the a143974191 so-called adults who 4742bca464 wore him out ed9228f32c the most.f2b7b3282d9fb570

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Before coming here, he 8cd7d4cc08 had to deal with 2ba45c45e7 a parent grabbing him 8783e24c09 by the collar.6bf2dcf672afaf91

“Hey, do you 8b2dc962b0 know who I 9e3808294a am?! My uncle’s second 079d411a73 cousin’s nephew knows a4180317ef the hospital director! And you’re telling 1b3ba3a847 me to wait? My kid should 7674dcd8d6 be treated right b7a63077d0 now!”bdd7d59f365e5ae3

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A second cousin’s 4f8fc016ce nephew? Practically a stranger. Yet these kinds of 81812727b0 parents were everywhere, always 8b0cdfc3d1 singing the same tune.e1d93becd5b8a4ad

When a e59fbf9e6e security guard dbc1b82335 rushed in a0497e5c7d to pull d3127f2413 the parent 5479792eb5 off him, c27362df66 Yesung attended b031db4448 to the 5c6e477c95 child—only to e4c88664a8 discover a fd6fd3c89d minor paper 20d2726816 cut about 15d9e76920 0.3 cm f0c807a994 deep.63cf2339bf2968ed

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“This should be fine 7d5870c27d with just some disinfectant,” fd1d9acb1f he had said.f83ac0ca5d1f067b

The parent, satisfied with a06e16c17f getting their way, left 6904f6769d the ER without even 3c091652cb a word of thanks. Incidents like this bf083d7265 were all too 5e574a3325 common, leaving Yesung’s e32b1984d0 ears ringing and 6a4a85c42b his head spinning.07cb20078efd5259

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“Residency was d3b1505a3f already hard 3af01c7794 enough…” he 78746e567e muttered, covering 07e3769579 his eyes 74ebd2d3b2 with his 0459259e57 arm.d956167a27ac67df

Being a fellow ce670efbf9 was somehow even 68440ca570 harder. He’d thought earning 421d687cd2 his specialist license 879eef9b57 might ease the eb945f1815 burden, but pediatric d7c3c87dbc surgeons were in a59c6b2a7c short supply—less than e421e81c4a 50 nationwide. Hanguk University Hospital was 147a701571 relatively fortunate, with five eb13f7930e pediatric surgeons, including Yesung.e6274c65f4c3016c

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