Chapter 27
At that moment, Kim Ji-hyun stopped in front of him, her eyes teary as she asked,
“How can I ever repay this kindness? What should I do?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“No, I can’t just leave it like this.”
“Then throw away everything from your past.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Kim Ji-hyun’s eyes trembled.
Da-ho’s expression was firm.
“From now on, live your life. Enjoy it more than anyone else — make it exciting, make it fun.”
“......”
“That’s all.”
Swish.
Without dragging things further, Da-ho turned and walked back toward the emergency room.
Behind him, Kim Ji-hyun blinked in confusion before hurriedly bowing.
“Doctor, thank you! I’ll come back to thank you properly. Really, thank you so much!”
Vrooom.
The sound of the departing ambulance echoed behind her.
Da-ho stopped for a moment and muttered quietly,
“Let’s just do well myself.”
There was a faint bitterness in his voice.
Then—
Step.
Nurse Lee Soo-yeon approached, glaring at him with narrow eyes.
“Doctor, what’s your deal? I really can’t figure you out.”
“See it however you want.”
“What?”
“Let’s go inside.”
Step, step.
Without another word, Da-ho headed back to the emergency room.
From behind, Lee Soo-yeon pouted and muttered,
“Totally unpredictable. But… he’s a good guy. That much is for sure.”
“Nurse.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming. You’re so pushy.”
Tadatak.
With a complicated look, Lee Soo-yeon followed after him.
The nurse station was still filled with a cold, tense air.
Head nurse Yoo Ji-young and the day-shift nurses looked around, confused.
“What happened here?”
“Did you guys fight overnight?”
They asked the night-shift nurses, who responded curtly.
“Fight? No, we’re just giving handover.”
“Let’s restock supplies first.”
Rustle, rustle.
Before long, everyone scattered to their duties, leaving behind an awkward silence.
Meanwhile—
Inside the Emergency Medicine Director’s office.
Director Lee Geon-taek had just arrived, his face already red with anger.
“W-What the hell is this!?”
“Well…”
“A resident — performing a cerebral angiography alone?! And then transferring the patient? How does that make any sense!”
Bang!
He slammed his desk furiously.
Resident Park Jin-gyu shrank back, bowing deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
“What were you doing, Dr. Park? Just watching?”
“Dr. Richard acted so unilaterally, I couldn’t—”
Before Park Jin-gyu could finish, the director roared,
“You should’ve stopped him with your whole body if you had to!”
“I apologize.”
“This is unbelievable!”
Thud.
Director Lee pressed both hands on his desk, his thick earlobes trembling with frustration.
Still, Park Jin-gyu’s report matched the records perfectly — everything that happened during the emergency was already documented in the EMR.
Director Lee pointed sharply at the monitor.
“Then what was Neurosurgery doing? Why didn’t they respond immediately?”
“They arrived later, but by then the procedure had already begun.”
“If you’d waited?”
“The patient might not have survived.”
“Urgh…! Tell Dr. Choi to come in. Now.”
He gave the order harshly.
And yet, despite his anger, not once did he mention reprimanding the emergency department’s attending doctors.
Blinking cautiously, Park Jin-gyu asked,
“Uh… which Dr. Choi do you mean?”
“Who do you think I mean, huh? Choi Dae-ho!”
“Ah— Richard. Got it.”
Shuffle.
Afraid of further scolding, Park Jin-gyu quickly left the office.
At that time—
Da-ho was getting ready to leave the residents’ room.
Rustle, rustle.
He changed clothes and put back on his watch and necklace.
Nearby, the two rookie residents, Seo Ju-ran and Kang Jin-soo, chirped like excited chicks.
Seo Ju-ran spoke first,
“Dr. Richard, seriously? You performed another emergency procedure without me?”
“An emergency medicine resident performing a cerebral angiography? On a stroke patient? Whoa!”
Kang Jin-soo followed up, eyes wide.
And Seo Ju-ran continued to chatter.
“You always do these cool things when I’m not around!”
“First it was orthopedics, now neurology — just how wide is your scope, Doctor?”
Their endless admiration filled the air.
“......”
Da-ho quietly continued packing.
If he had one wish?
‘I’d like some peace and quiet.’
Then suddenly—
Bang!
The door burst open, and Chief Yoo Kwang-goo stormed in.
“Richard! Where the hell are you?!”
Seo Ju-ran and Kang Jin-soo both froze.
