Chapter 22
From behind him, Yoo Gwang-gu’s voice echoed, filled with satisfaction.
“See? Once Juran steps in, everything becomes neat and clean. And Jin-soo, looks like you’ve finally come to your senses.”
“Eh? Ah, yes, sir.”
“Keep it that way. Don’t even leave that guy a single inch to stand on.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Seo Juran and Kang Jin-soo’s reluctant voices replied.
Hearing that, Dae-ho quietly walked back toward the nurses’ station.
“Even in stagnant water, fish still live,” he murmured, half to himself.
It was his lighthearted impression after dealing with Seo Juran and Kang Jin-soo separately.
Late that evening, several patients suddenly rushed into the emergency room.
At night, such things weren’t unusual.
But with limited staff, the medical team had to move quickly.
“Zone 3, Patient 5 — are the CBC results out yet?”
“Zone 2, Patient 7 — PACS results just updated!”
“Zone 2, Patient 3 — we need to stop the bleeding first! Get ready!”
Clatter!
The residents ran back and forth like they were in a relay race.
Of course, Dae-ho wasn’t free either — in fact, he had become the center of emergency care before anyone realized it.
It was well past the time when the specialists had gone home.
His skills were already proven, and he was a graduate of the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital.
It was only natural that everyone sought him out.
When he wasn’t seen at the nurse’s station, everyone began to call out.
“Richard, where are you?”
“Senior Richard, where are you right now?”
“I asked first! Richard!”
The frustrated residents shouted across the ER.
At that moment, Dae-ho was treating a traffic accident victim in Zone 1.
The patient had severe injuries to both arms and legs, and Dae-ho was carefully setting the broken bones.
“Ugh… Nurse, pull that part a little tighter!”
“Here? Like this?”
“Yes, hold it just like that.”
Slide, slide.
He carefully tried to realign the bone that had pierced through the skin.
That’s when Park Jin-kyu came rushing in from behind.
“Richard! About that carbon monoxide poisoning case in Zone 3…”
“Give them pure oxygen for now. If consciousness level improves, then we’ll talk again!”
“Got it! Thanks!”
Thud-thud-thud!
Park Jin-kyu dashed away in a hurry.
Moments later, Seo Juran approached, clearly taking over the next case.
“Senior, the patient with acute rheumatic fever in the back bed…”
“First-line: penicillin antibiotics. Second-line: aspirin and steroids.”
“Got it!”
As soon as she received the orders, she ran off immediately.
All the while, Dae-ho’s hands didn’t stop moving — he was fully focused on the broken bone.
“Hnnngh… tch!”
“Dr. Richard, should we call orthopedics?”
“The nerve might… nnngh… it might get severed if we wait. Almost there!”
Crunch!
With a sharp sound, the bone twisted back into place.
“…”
Thud, thud.
The unconscious patient twitched violently — had they been awake, they would’ve certainly passed out from the pain.
While Dae-ho juggled both first aid and directing others, a well-dressed man suddenly appeared with a calm smile.
Step, step.
It was none other than Kim Hyun-seok, the man he’d treated mid-flight — Kim Seung-min’s father.
Kim Hyun-seok cleared his throat politely.
“The ER at night… it’s like another battlefield.”
“You just realized that now… huh?”
Dae-ho reflexively turned to look — and froze.
Kim Hyun-seok smiled broadly.
“It wasn’t easy to find my way here…”
But Dae-ho didn’t listen to a word he said.
He had already turned back to his work, giving quick orders to Nurse Lee Soo-yeon.
“More saline, here!”
“Um, Dr. Richard—”
“Saline, quickly!”
He didn’t even spare a glance.
Lee Soo-yeon, understanding his focus, stayed silent and continued helping.
It was an obvious dismissal.
“…”
Yet, Kim Hyun-seok’s smile didn’t fade.
How interesting, he thought. So that’s the man who saved my son.
After a while, Dae-ho finally finished the initial treatment.
Rustle.
“Phew…”
He took off his sweat-soaked gloves and let out a breath.
Then, Kim Hyun-seok spoke.
“Finished, Doctor?”
“Yes. Is Seung-min doing well?”
“No problems at all — he’s already been discharged.”
He held out his phone, showing photos of his son smiling brightly with a lollipop.
The wound from the emergency procedure?
Clean.
As expected of a healthy child, the recovery was fast.
Dae-ho looked up.
“So, Seung-min’s fine… did you come here because you’re sick this time?”
“Haha, you treat me like a patient after I came all this way.”
“This is a hospital. So why did you come?”
He asked directly, wasting no time.
