chapter 5
5 – Spoon in the Drawer (4)
“Who are you again? Bring a doctor! Doctor!”
Hanyul Officer Training School Hospital. Today, the emergency room is in a dilemma due to one absurd incident.
It’s a familiar scene in the emergency room.
“The teacher is currently in consultation. Shouting won’t help.”
A female student confronted the situation to deal with the absurdity.
With long navy-blue hair neatly tied inside a hairnet, eyes shining like emerald stones, slightly below-average height, and even a red cross badge on her right arm.
It was Choe Soeun, a second-year medical student.
“Hey, didn’t you see that I came to the emergency room first? Why is that guy getting treatment before me?”
“This is the emergency room. It’s not about who came first; we prioritize based on the severity of the condition. Didn’t you hear that during registration earlier?”
“Are you saying I’m not an emergency patient? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
There are people who, no matter how well you explain, just don’t get it. Especially in the emergency room, this happens more often.
It’s not that they don’t understand the issue, which is directly related to life. Choe Soeun understands that much.
But.
This patient has crossed that line.
Since a while ago, he has been making loud noises and even making his fellow medical students cry.
As a senior, Choe Soeun can’t just stand by and watch.
“If you wanted to be treated in the order you came, you should have gone to the outpatient clinic, not the emergency room. Your wound doesn’t seem that deep anyway. Don’t make a fuss over a scratched arm.”
“What, what did you say? Fuss? Did you just say that? How dare you say such a thing to a patient? Are you really working in a hospital?”
The patient stood up abruptly. He was a sturdy man, much larger than Choe Soeun.
But Choe Soeun didn’t back down.
“Why, does it bother you? Then file a complaint. Or you can directly complain to the hospital director.”
“Are you crazy? Are you mocking your own father right now? Huh?”
Choe Soeun is considered a remarkable figure even within Hanyul Officer Training School. The center of this school, even though she is not a combat department student.
Not giving any consideration to the fact that she was a patient and shooting her words like arrows was also what made her famous, but, of course, her father’s influence played a significant role in spreading Choi So-eun’s name.
After all, she was the daughter of the Minister of Hero Management, a central government agency.
“Oh, right. I’m doing this because I trust my father. So what? What can you do? Besides making a scene in the emergency room, what can you do for me?”
“That woman is really…!”
Unable to bear it any longer, the patient raised their hand. Just so you know, it was the injured arm.
Choi So-eun chuckled. Acting like that while being perfectly capable of moving around, and yet coming to the emergency room.
It’s like they’re asking for trouble.
“Tsk.”
The patient finally withdrew their hand.
Still, their head wasn’t entirely empty. They looked around for a moment and then left the emergency room.
Bang!
But their exit wasn’t graceful. They knocked over a medical cart for no reason.
“So childish…”
Choi So-eun didn’t bother to follow them. She was satisfied enough that they left the emergency room on their own.
Choi So-eun began to tidy up the scattered medical supplies on the floor.
“Uh, uh… Senior… I’m sorry… for causing trouble…”
After the situation was sorted out, a junior colleague arrived. They started picking up the scattered items while tears streamed down their face.
“It’s okay. You’re still a freshman. You can cry if you want. We all did at first.”
“Did you cry when you were a freshman too?”
“Well, I don’t remember if I did.”
She might have cursed back, but she didn’t cry.
In fact, last year, she even had a physical altercation with a female patient, pulling each other’s hair.
From a customer’s perspective, one might wonder why a woman like her is working at a hospital.
In reality, despite being a freshman last year, Choi So-eun overwhelmingly topped the list of complaints filed by patients.
Of course, Choi So-eun didn’t care.
“I’m really glad you’re in the Medical Corps… If you weren’t here, I… I… would have…”
But within the Medical Corps, the evaluation was different. Everyone liked Choi So-eun. Who could dislike Choi So-eun when she effortlessly chased away difficult patients?
Within the Medical Corps, Choi So-eun was nothing short of a hero.
“aaargh!
“I’ll help you finish cleaning up.”
At the entrance to the emergency room, screams echoed. An emergency patient? Choi Soeun hurried over.
“So, Soeun… There’s blood on that person’s face…”
The medical officer and classmates trembled, unable to close their mouths. At the end of their gaze, they spotted a male student.
“Shin Yoonseong?”
Now, even from the back, it was immediately recognizable. He was a frequent visitor to the emergency room.
Where did he get hurt today? It seemed to be around his face from what they overheard.
“Emergency room. Can I register now?”
Shin Yoonseong turned around. His face was a complete mess. Shades of red, white, brown… smeared all over.
“It’s… not blood, it’s ketchup?”
The red was, upon closer inspection, indeed ketchup.
The white was mayonnaise.
The brown… was it tonkatsu sauce?
Anyway, the smell was atrocious.
“Couldn’t you at least wash your face before registering?”
Unable to contain their disbelief, laughter was the only response. Cabbage bits even clung to the ends of his hair. Did he stick his head in a cabbage patch or something?
“I wanted to wash up too, but…”
Shin Yoonseong glanced downward slightly. He looked at his dangling arms.
“I lost both shoulders, you see.”
***
After wiping off various sauces from his face and readjusting his dislocated shoulders, Choi Soeun finally disinfected Yoonseong’s wounds in the treatment room.
“Today seems worse than usual. What mischief have you been up to again?”
She could hazard a guess at what might have happened.
The reason for Yoonseong’s injury? Probably picking a fight with combat troops and Arnah, his affiliation, and getting a harsh rebuke in return.
“I just taught a more enjoyable way to savor tonkatsu.”
“…”
For a moment, it nearly burst out, ‘What did you say?’
Choi Soeun barely swallowed those words down her throat. It was better not to say it out loud, as it might lead to an odd conversation.
She wasn’t particularly keen on hearing it. Sometimes, ignoring was the best response.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“…”
“At lunchtime….”
“Can’t you be a bit quieter during disinfection?”
In another sense, Shim Yoon-seong is a puzzle. He has a knack for being bothersome.
This type isn’t one you can easily brush off just by pushing back like earlier. It’s a tiresome style in many ways.
Oh, come to think of it….
“Didn’t bring flowers today.”
Every time he comes to the emergency room, Shim Yoon-seong always brings a bouquet of flowers. No matter how severe the injury, he always makes sure to bring a bouquet.
The owner of that bouquet is Min Soeun, who is here.
He always gave Min Soeun a bouquet of flowers, along with accompanying words.
─ “Marry me.”
When I first heard that, I thought it was a joke. Proposing to someone you barely know.
Of course, I rejected it. However, Shim Yoon-seong didn’t give up and kept coming to the emergency room. From last year until now.
At this point, I wonder if he deliberately gets hit by a car to come to the emergency room.
Ah, is that too much of an exaggeration?
“Well, about the bouquet….”
But today, Shim Yoon-seong didn’t bring a bouquet. He didn’t even make the usual proposal he always had on his lips.
I even found myself staring in surprise, like it was some fact I had never heard before.
Hey, is this the Shim Yoon-seong I knew? Did he happen to lose his memory while sticking his head in the rice container?
“Oh, I see.”
Soon, Shim Yoon-seong seemed to recall something he had forgotten and nodded. Then he spoke.
“Do you need a bouquet?”
“No, I don’t need it.”
Honestly, it’s just a burden. It’s also difficult to deal with withered flowers. It’s better not to receive them at all.
“Do you need it in the future?”
“No. I won’t need it in the future.”
“Got it. I won’t bring a bouquet anymore.”
What’s this? Was he always this good at communication?
He usually doesn’t even pretend to listen. Why is he suddenly listening well today?
Maybe if he does well…
“While we’re at it, can’t the emergency room at least come at a reasonable time? It’s a bit bothersome.”
“That seems quite difficult.”
It seems the challenge to Arna continues. What meaning is there in persisting like this, always losing?
Nevertheless…
“Give it your best shot. Continuously facing an opponent you can’t beat, not giving up… I quite like that.”
Minsoe also experiences having an opponent she can’t beat. That’s why she cheers for Shinyeong.
Of course, she has no intention of accepting a proposal.
Snap!
Finally, the fixer roll was attached. With this, the entire disinfection process was finished.
“Now you can go.”
“…”
However, Shinyeong did not get up from his seat. He continued to slowly look around the treatment room while remaining seated.
“Why, is there something wrong?”
“No. The disinfection was perfectly fine.”
“Then what?”
Is there something more he wants to say? It can’t be a proposal. Minsoe quietly waited for Shinyeong.
Soon, Shinyeong spoke.
“By any chance, do you have any spare earplugs?”
“Earplugs? Well, they’re medical supplies, so we do have them. Are you going to use them for shooting practice?”
“Something like that.”
Sometimes, people ask for things like adhesive patches or lightweight first aid kits for shooting practice. It’s something that can be supplied without any problems.
Anyway, this place is also a welfare facility for Hanyul Military Academy.
“How many do you need?”
“About a hundred.”
“…”
Still, isn’t this going a bit too far?
***
As a reward for tormenting Arna at the restaurant, SP points were obtained.
A precious reward extracted at the expense of giving up my shoulders. Let’s carefully consider when to use it.
─── Andvari ───
Grade: Unique
▶ Active Skill [Locked] – Unlockable!
▶ Passive Skills [Locked]
▶ Functions – No acquirable skills
Available SP Points: 1
*This item is exclusive to this character!
───
“This… I can only choose one anyway….”
There’s only one option, the active skill.
Quickly, I opened the skill tab.
─── Andvari ───
▶ Active Skill
[Pyrokinesis Lv.1: Skill acquirable, requires 1 SP point]
[???]
[???]
[???]
─
Originally, the spoon was said to be an object symbolizing psychic abilities. Accordingly, a skill that perfectly matched it appeared.
Pyrokinesis. The ability to manipulate objects without using the body. With this skill alone, even socks that have fallen to the floor can easily be brought into your hands.
Now, it seems like a somewhat useful ability has come out. The next time I have to eat seasoned chicken, I should use this skill first. How nice would it be to eat seasoned chicken without getting any seasoning on my hands?
“Well then, where….”
Let’s test it right away. Since the skill level is still 1, should I start with something light?
Let’s try lifting the A4 paper on the desk.
Swooosh—
It moved.
But what floated in the air wasn’t the A4 paper I was aiming for.
Exactly, it was a spoon.
Only a single spoon was floating in the air.
“This… Was it limited to just spoons…?”
Unfortunately, it seems impossible to eat seasoned chicken without touching it.