Chapter 3
The flight attendants, pale with fear, began to move quickly.
“F-first, get the AED!”
“Get EMK approval from the captain, and bring everything out!”
Clatter.
The passengers, anxious at the attendants’ frantic movements, quickly made a path.
Meanwhile, Daeho had completed thirty chest compressions.
“Twenty-nine… thirty!”
Whoosh!
As Daeho pulled his hands away, the middle-aged doctor immediately gave rescue breaths.
“Phew! Phew!”
The two of them worked together smoothly, alternating breaths.
After one full CPR cycle, Daeho listened to Seungmin’s heart again with the stethoscope.
But the ventricular fibrillation was worse than he thought.
Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump.
The heart was beating completely out of control.
‘Damn!’
Daeho’s face tightened.
The breathing was also irregular.
Hiss… hiss… hiss…
Shallow, rapid breaths.
His mind raced.
‘This situation isn’t simple.’
It couldn’t just be normal hypotensive shock.
At that moment, Seungmin’s father’s words flashed through Daeho’s mind.
‘There were problems since the flight began?’
That meant the hypotensive shock had been going on for over ten hours.
The terrifying thing about hypotensive shock?
It’s often asymptomatic.
Many cases show no symptoms until a critical moment.
Seungmin’s body had been signaling its problem through constant vomiting—but it had been noticed too late.
His parents hadn’t neglected him. They had done everything they could with their medical knowledge.
The problem was that Seungmin’s illness was beyond that.
Over ten hours of hypotensive shock had clearly affected something else.
Daeho’s expression grew serious.
‘Something’s hiding in this small body. What could it be?’
His eyes hardened as he looked at Seungmin.
Meanwhile, the scattered flight attendants quickly regrouped.
Rustle.
“Here’s the AED!”
“EMK is ready!”
They laid out everything neatly around Daeho.
Basic tools like stethoscope, blood pressure monitor, flashlight, and thermometer were in place.
But this kit was clearly more advanced than a regular first-aid box.
Syringes, IV sets, catheters, disinfectant pads, disposable gloves, urinary catheters—more professional medical tools were included.
There were also various injectable medications, glucose, and saline.
Daeho remained calm despite the urgency.
He couldn’t get distracted by unknown symptoms.
The ventricular fibrillation had to be stabilized first.
With a cold, sharp expression, he surveyed the scene and gave clear orders.
First, the middle-aged doctor.
“Doctor, please attach the AED pads.”
“Me? Okay, let’s do it.”
The middle-aged doctor moved without hesitation.
Even though it was slightly outside his usual scope, he stepped back without objection.
‘What a remarkable person.’
Daeho admired silently.
Then he turned to the attendants.
“Do you have any antiarrhythmics?”
“We don’t carry specialized medications.”
“Then lidocaine, right?”
“Yes, we have it. I’ll prepare it immediately.”
Swish, swish.
The attendants skillfully prepared the syringes.
Daeho continued giving detailed instructions, scanning the emergency kit.
“Draw epinephrine into a syringe, and prepare the portable oxygen device.”
“Yes, yes!”
Quickly, the attendants moved efficiently.
The middle-aged doctor gestured urgently.
“AED is ready!”
“Shock now!”
“Hands off, shock!”
Zap! Thud!
The strong electrical shock jolted Seungmin’s body.
Daeho frowned as he listened with the stethoscope.
“Damn, not yet!”
“Charge again!”
Bzzzz.
The AED recharged immediately.
Meanwhile, an attendant handed Daeho the syringes.
“Lidocaine and epinephrine!”
“Lidocaine first, then epinephrine!”
Click, click.
He injected each into the vein with precision.
Seungmin’s tiny veins posed no problem.
The process was executed skillfully and efficiently.
Daeho didn’t take his eyes off Seungmin, continuing emergency care.
But the situation didn’t improve.
The ventricular fibrillation continued, threatening the boy’s life.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
The pulse in his fingertips felt like a vibrating machine.
Given the medications, this was expected.
Honestly, the heart should have stopped by now.
