READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Intern Shin Seonhan (2)
“Why, does being called a graduate of a rock-bottom school offend you?”
“Not at all.”
I reply to Kim Snake’s question with a wry smile.
Even if his words are harsh, they aren’t wrong.
The worst of the mismanaged universities.
It’s a school whose reputation plummeted due to repeated financial difficulties, wage arrears, and corruption within the foundation.
I remember spending my last years of college in a nearly dilapidated building, enduring a gloomy campus life.
It even got to the point where there weren’t enough professors, and freshmen couldn’t attend their major classes.
In the end, Ilun University closed down and disappeared, and the 300 or so medical students were scattered like abandoned ducklings.
I am from the last graduating class.
It was fortunate that I managed to cling to a raft from the wrecked ship, passing the Yeonguk University Hospital internship program.
“Don’t take it too personally, I’m just stating facts. It won’t be easy to adapt here with a background from that school.”
“I came prepared for that.”
“That’s good then.”
He curled his lips into a smile and continued condescendingly.
“Well, it doesn’t matter which university you graduated from, as long as you do your job well. Learn a lot here.”
Learn a lot here?
His subtly conveyed message stings.
It sounds like he’s implying that with my background, I have no chance of staying at Yeonguk University Hospital.
Indeed, Yeonguk University Hospital, despite its fame, is also notorious for its conservative elitism.
Out of 140 fellow interns, only 15, including myself, are from other universities, so that speaks for itself.
“Oh, and who knows? If, by any chance, you get chosen as Intern of the Year, there might be a possibility.”
He adds with a sneer.
‘Intern of the Year’ is a title given to the most outstanding intern at Yeonguk University Hospital.
It’s an honor that every intern dreams of.
Of course, the possibility of me, a graduate from another university, getting such an opportunity is close to zero.
Kim Snake knows this, yet he brings it up to taunt me.
I clench my fist beneath the sleeve of my gown.
‘Just you wait.’
I’ll survive here no matter what, I’ll become a resident here, and then a fellow.
And someday, I’ll become a professor here, and I’ll see those Yeonguk University graduates bowing down to me!
Instead of saying that out loud, I reply with a smile,
“Yes, I’ll do my best!”
Damn, working life is tough.
I’m already worried about whether I can keep my temper in check for the next year here.
***
After the morning rounds are over, the real workday begins.
Morning conference.
I have to be extra alert from here on.
This is because everyone gathers in one place, from professors to residents, interns, and ward nurses.
If I make even a small mistake, I’m likely to be labeled as the clueless one.
Especially in my case, if I show even a slight lack of competence, I could be branded with the stigma of “as expected from a local university graduate.”
Kim Snake yawns and says,
“Go ahead and prepare for the conference with your fellow interns.”
“Yes. Should I bring sandwiches like last time?”
“Of course. And be careful, Professor Park has an egg allergy.”
“Understood.”
“If you bring those pollock roe sandwiches like last time, I’ll kill you. Those were freaking disgusting.”
As we’re having this conversation, someone interrupts us.
“Senior, you’re here!”
It’s one of my fellow interns who works in the ward next door.
Jo Jinki.
He has an unpleasant look about him.
If my father, who believes in physiognomy, saw him, he would probably say he’s the type to stab someone in the back.
In fact, he was one of the guys who were badmouthing me in the cafeteria this morning.
He smirks at me.
“Oh, Seonhan. Are you going to buy sandwiches? Make sure to get something fresh, like your name. I’d like a ham and cheese.”
“Why are you ordering your colleague around?”
Kim Snake snaps at him, and Jo Jinki replies nonchalantly,
“Oh, Senior, it’s not an order. I’m just asking a favor from a colleague in a friendly way. By the way, I have something confidential to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“There’s this junior from our school… Ah, this is something other schools shouldn’t hear. Shall we talk over there?”
Saying that, Jo Jinki sticks to Kim Snake like glue and disappears somewhere.
Left alone, I blow on my bangs to cool down.
Damn. This feels awful.
Is Yeonguk University’s elitism really this bad?
Forget about working life, I feel the urge to just flip out and cause a scene.
Just then, the head nurse approaches me and says,
“It’s dirty and unfair, isn’t it?”
“Huh?”
“This field is full of cliques. It’s especially sickening to see how Yeonguk University doctors look down on those from other schools.”
The nurse shakes her head as if she’s fed up.
She must have witnessed this kind of behavior many times while working in the ward.
I chuckle. It seems like my mood is lifting a bit now that someone is on my side.
“Well, I can’t exactly leave the temple just because I don’t like the monks.”
“That’s right. If you’ve come to the temple, you have to adapt as a monk. That’s how it works in our country.”
“Well then, I’ll get going with the chores.”
“Okay. Fighting!”
The head nurse pumps her fist, and I smile and nod.
A while later, I gather the sandwiches according to the number of attendees and head to the conference room.
Click—
I turn on the lights, and the spacious, empty conference room is revealed.
“Whew.”
I look around the empty room and take in the cool air.
It’s the time when we share issues about patients every morning.
Seeing everyone discuss patients’ prognoses and treatment methods makes me realize how cool the medical profession is.
The reason I wanted to become a doctor in the first place?
Money, fame, and all that, but more than anything, it was because it was “cool.”
Of course, now I’m just an insignificant intern who delivers sandwiches…
‘Someday, I’ll become the surgeon I dream of being.’
I briefly imagine myself as a professor at Yeonguk University Hospital, achieving the highest honor as a doctor.
My dream is to become a great surgeon who saves countless lives, just like Professor Baek Eushin, whom I saw on TV as a child.
Lost in my imagination, I feel a gentle touch on my back.
“Seonhan oppa.”
“Oh my gosh!”
I turn my head to see a cute, puppy-like girl staring up at me.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Give me some warning next time, Yeonseo. I thought you were a ghost.”
“Here, have this.”
“What is it?”
My fellow intern, Lee Yeonseo, hands me a small throat lozenge.
“Geun-uk oppa said you dozed off while eating earlier. You absolutely can’t fall asleep during the conference! The professors are watching.”
“Thanks. Your surprise actually woke me up completely.”
“As expected, fellow interns are the best, right?”
“Indeed, fellow interns are the best.”
I take the throat lozenge she offers and pop it in my mouth. Yeonseo looks at me with warm eyes and a friendly smile.
Yeonseo is a Yeonguk University graduate, and I heard she was famous for her bright personality and exceptional looks even during her college days.
Long eyelashes.
Flawless, white skin.
A cheerful personality and a radiant smile.
It’s as if she was born with all the elements to attract people’s attention.
Even now, rumors are swirling that male residents are fiercely competing for Yeonseo’s attention.
‘Of course, that has nothing to do with me.’
I chuckle to myself.
The only thing that matters to me now is surviving here at Yeonguk University Hospital.
I’m busy enough adapting to life as an intern; I don’t have time to care about other people’s love lives or anything like that.
Still, it’s somewhat comforting to know that there are kind colleagues like Yeonseo among the Yeonguk University graduates.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. By the way, is everything okay in your ward?”
“Oh, no way. Every day is a war. Want to hear a story? Yesterday in the ward…”
“What are you two talking about so excitedly?”
Just then, our conversation is interrupted by the arrival of others.
“Good morning!”
“Good morning!”
We all greet each other energetically.
Soon, the conference room is filled with people.
***
The conference begins.
First, the attending physician gives a briefing about the patients, and then several professors discuss the future direction of treatment.
The doctors become tense when there’s a patient who took an unexpected turn overnight or when they discuss difficult cases.
What is the role of interns during this time?
Literally “air.”
Sitting still and listening is all interns have to do.
This is because it’s not a conversation that newly graduated fledglings can dare to participate in.
[Professor = King]
[Fellow = Royal advisor]
[Resident = Commoner]
[Intern = Peasant]
If you were to draw a hierarchy chart of the medical team, it would look something like that.
There’s even a saying in university hospitals, “Below interns, there’s only the tile floor.”
Interns must act like interns, keeping their mouths shut and their ears open.
As the conference is about to end, the internal medicine professor rubs his eyelids and says,
“We have quite a busy schedule today. Did all the sick people in Korea gather here?”
“Haha, I guess so.”
“Professor, you appeared so smart on the EBS “Famous Doctors” program last time that many patients have been flocking here since then.”
As soon as the professor finishes speaking, the fellows next to him shower him with flattering comments as if they were waiting for their cue.
Wow… To think they can say those things without shame. So this is what working life is all about.
I click my tongue in disbelief, and the professor’s slow voice continues,
“Let’s see, we also have a patient with an EF (ejection fraction)[mfn]It measures your heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood out to your body.[/mfn] of 35% scheduled for PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention)[mfn]a non-surgical procedure that opens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries in the heart.[/mfn] this afternoon, right?”
“Yes, it’s patient Kim Jeongsu. We’re planning to get consent today and proceed with the procedure.”
“Alright, let’s do that…”
The conversation moves on to other topics, but I can’t focus.
Wait. What did he just say?
Patient Kim Jeongsu?
Sitting in the corner, I furrow my brow, my attention diverted.
‘I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere…’
Just then, a scene from the dream I had at dawn flashes through my mind like lightning.
—Stopping CPR and pronouncing time of death. Patient Kim Jeongsu, 03:22… has passed away.
“Ah!”
I slap my knee.
I remember now! The patient from my dream!
That patient’s name was Kim Jeongsu.
Even if it was a dream, it was so vivid that I remember it clearly.
But… that was the name of a real patient?
How is this possible?
—————
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