Before he knew it, Hae-jun passed the professors and faced Lee Han in front of him. He swallowed the self-talk that was lingering in his mouth. He pretended not to notice Lee Han’s gaze, which seemed to be staring at his lips, and straightened his shoulders.
“Professor Yoon seems to have known me in advance. He saw that he knew right away.”
“It can’t be. “I just thought it might be the new chairman since he was with the planning director.”
I couldn’t say, ‘I recognized him because he looked like an animal,’ so I responded with a good reason and a smile.
If the opponent is a wolf, then this person has to be at least a fox to be an opponent.
Hae-joon naturally took the hand he held out first. I was surprised that he was someone with the same body temperature as me, but he erased his personal feelings as much as possible.
“Even if it’s not necessarily true, anyone who has worked at Cheil should know about the new chairman of Cheil Hospital, a hospital with a long history and tradition.”
“is that so?”
“of course. They all have a lot of interest and are very famous people. From the moment we heard you were coming, everyone said,
“What are they saying?”
“… … .”
“That wouldn’t have been a very good story.”
Above his snickering lips, his eyes turned slightly towards her. It was a perfect, flowing movement, even shaking Hae-joon’s hand, which had stopped for a moment without knowing what to do.
“I guess I was just joking. “I didn’t know you would be this nervous.”
“… … Oh, no. “I’m nervous.”
Hae-joon finally regained his smile and naturally took his hand away. He didn’t really apply any force, but for a moment, the hand he was holding felt hot, as if it had been burned.
‘why me. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong.’
Hae-jun nodded to the man who was staring at him as if he was reading my thoughts. It seems to be a bad-tempered wolf that enjoys playing with its prey, but it has no intention of being subjected to its toy.
In fact, if we were to just say she was hungry, she was more hungry than this beast.
“I will work hard to meet the Chairman’s expectations.”
“I think you’re already passionate enough.”
Lee Han’s eyes slowly drifted down and became meaningful as they rested on the leaves under Haejun’s clothes.
… … huh?
Haejun quietly bit the inside of his mouth as the laughter that wasn’t a smile disappeared without a trace before he could even notice. what. For a moment, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable and couldn’t pretend not to see Kyeongmin’s anxious eyes.
Confidently anytime, anywhere.
I recalled again what the center director had told me to do. It would be difficult for me to bow down helplessly like the professors. There is a need to be more confident, especially in situations where what needs to be achieved is clear.
“I guess you have something to say to me.”
“ah… … .”
Lee Han’s eyes became sharp as he noticed Hae-joon’s changed mood, and at the same time, the eyes of the residents surrounding her became earnest. Hae-joon, who had taken on a huge responsibility, gave strength to his overlapping hands.
Heart Transplant Center.
This is something I have practiced dozens or hundreds of times. Hae-joon’s lips, more earnest than anyone else’s, slowly fell, adding that he had longed for it.
“I know it’s still too early to say this, but our CS members have been working hard so far… … .”
Suddenly.
Before she could finish speaking, the door to the medical office opened violently. This is Minguk, who was said to be down in the ward. When not only Hae-joon but also everyone in the office turned to look at him, Minguk gasped for a moment.
“Gyo, professor!”
“Minguk. Is there a problem with the patient? Ah, is the foreign patient fully awake?”
“yes. “I woke up, but I woke up.”
“Then I’m glad. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
What else can I say?
Her pride in the patient she worked so hard to save gave her courage. Then she goes back to the point. No matter how you look at it, Minguk’s urgent crying came first as he raised his head more confidently in front of the more overwhelming man.
“The patient ran away! “Uh, what should I do, Professor!”
◇ ◆ ◇
The 8-bed ward, which is always overflowing with people, was especially crowded today. Beyond the patients who had gathered to see what was going on, the nurse in charge lowered her head in tears.
“S-sorry. Professor Yoon. “I should have looked more closely.”
“… … “What exactly happened?”
“Huh. Well, that… … .”
When the nurse finally began to cry and take a deep breath, Hae-joon closed his eyes. I wish I could just close my eyes like this forever and not see, but the more I do that, the closer reality gets. Hae-joon forced his eyes open. An indescribable emotion flashed through her dark brown eyes.
“… … So, as soon as you wake up, it disappears?”
“You said you were so thirsty that I called Teacher Minguk to ask if I could give you some water, but I guess he went out in the meantime. It must be inconvenient to walk around just after waking up. I never thought it would just go away… … .”
“Have you looked at the CCTV?”
“sure. I searched all the bathrooms and couldn’t find it, so I called the security team to check, but he ran away. I think he stole someone else’s clothes from the laundromat, changed them, and took a taxi. “What should I do, teacher?”
“… … .”
Iknow, right. What should I do?
As Hae-joon, whose eyes were now white, sat down on the empty hospital bed, Minguk and Kyung-min held her arms.
“iced coffee.”
“professor. Are you okay?”
“It’s okay, but it would be better if it wasn’t okay.”
If I fall, I can escape this abyss for a while.
As Hae-joon blinked blankly and even let out a laugh, the residents who were watching were saddened. Professor Yoon is not the type of person to do this. The person who had always been a beacon to us with his rational, cool-headedness, and perfect skills was smiling like a deflated balloon due to being anxious.
“I’m a professor. “Come to your senses!”
“No, what did you all see? No, why did they come all the way here?”
Go, go!
Kyungmin shouted at the people who were making noise. Looking at the residents of other departments who were pushed away by his strong gestures, it seems that rumors have already spread within the hospital.
Well, even the chairman who came for the first time today knows.
The moment that thought occurred to Hae-joon, he strongly grabbed his tight chest.
“Ugh.”
“professor! Have some water. “What’s going to happen like this?”
“… … “Kyeongmin.”
Do you think it’s possible for something more to happen here?
Hae-joon’s energy was completely drained by the innocent shout. Her surgery patient runs away, and this is the first time something like this has happened to her, as she is in the midst of life and death several times a day.
“The security team looked up the taxi number and reported it to the police. You will be contacted soon. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“It’s obvious. “It must be because of the cost of the surgery.”
“… … .”
The already gloomy atmosphere became even darker as the nurse cried and added a few words. In fact, if a patient secretly runs away, nine times out of ten it is a money issue. The remaining one was either a criminal or an illegal immigrant, so in this case it was both.
“Whew. “If I had known that the hospital expenses would be covered by the sponsors’ association, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“sorry. professor. I had to explain as soon as I woke up, I tried to say a few words but they didn’t speak English nor did I understand the language… … .”
“Anyway, how much was the hospital bill?”
“Oh, anyway, as soon as the incident occurred, I went to the administrative office.”
Minguk, who was crouching like a criminal, picked up the receipt lying on the bed. The courage of handing it over with trembling hands and trying not to give up hope was incredible.
“For now, I will inquire while waiting for the police to contact me. “It will be difficult to endure in that condition, but you can go to another hospital.”
“… … .”
“Oh, and there are times when they come back later saying they’re sorry. “This patient could be like that too.”
“no. “Minguk.”
One, ten, hundred, thousand… … . Hae-joon’s eyes, who had been counting the numbers on the receipt from back to back over and over again, became blank. A desperate laugh in a quiet voice. Her hand, which had held up well when shaking hands with the chairman, began to tremble as she barely held on to a piece of paper.
“It never comes back on its own.”
Because, even if it were me, I wouldn’t come.
◇ ◆ ◇
“Seventy-eight million won?”
“… … “Yes, Chairman.”
In the Cheil Hospital Chairman’s Office, the hands of the planning director were shaking as he presented the receipt. Unlike him, who couldn’t even raise his head because he was so shameless, Lee Han, who accepted the receipt with one hand, was frighteningly insensitive.
“I guess the surgery was pretty big.”
“Ah yes. It appears that the car accident caused significant organ damage. At that level, you can almost say that he came back from death. “It seems that it happened because CS and GS combined and hung around for over 10 hours, and various tests were added later.”
“Is that common?”
“… … .”
Lee Han’s straight eyes stared at the planning director. Even though he didn’t really mean to kill them, the head of planning denied it, looking pitifully shocked.
“Oh, no. Even if it is an emergency, it can be difficult. It is difficult to obtain consent from each department, and it is difficult to immediately confirm with the anesthesiologist and then secure an operating room. I heard that this incident would not have been possible in the first place if CS had not taken an active role… … .”
“So it started with that woman, no, that professor.”
Lee Han summed it up succinctly, as if that was the only thing that was important to me from the beginning. He sat back a little leisurely in his chair and lightly played with his fingers on the armrest.
“It is a sincere pleasure to meet you, Chairman.”
As soon as he encountered me in the hallway, he bowed his small head in a polite yet mechanical manner. If you are afraid of me, it is Lee Han who I have seen for 34 years. Maybe that’s why I remember her even more.
