“We will now proceed with the ribbon cutting.”
At the host’s announcement, the reporters’ cameras all clicked in unison. The eyes of the residents, press, and various officials gathered before the main entrance of Samcheok Emergency Center turned toward Taeho.
Taeho took the golden scissors prepared for him and paused to steady his breath. The time from acquiring Geumsan Clinic until now flashed past like a panorama. Every one of those moments had led to this place.
“Director Kang Taeho will say a few words.”
The microphone was handed to Taeho. He opened his mouth calmly.
“The sea gives us boundless vitality, but at times, it also brings unexpected dangers. The place opening its doors today is not merely the addition of one more emergency room...”
Just then, from behind the platform, Nurse Go Hayeong ran over with an urgent expression and whispered in Taeho’s ear.
“Director, we’ve received a call from the 119 situation room. Five crew members on the fishing vessel Daeseongho at Berth 7 of the harbor have lost consciousness as a group. The Coast Guard is approaching the scene, but the situation appears serious.”
In that instant, Taeho’s eyes changed. The gentle expression vanished, and the cool-headed face of a doctor returned.
Seated among the guests of honor, Honorary Director Kim Byeongjo noticed the change in Taeho’s expression and widened his eyes. His instincts, honed through thirty years of hospital experience, told him this was no ordinary situation.
Taeho quietly handed the scissors he was holding back to the host and took the microphone again.
“We are canceling the opening ceremony.”
For a moment, a stir ran through the venue. Hundreds of pairs of eyes looked at him, wondering what had happened.
Taeho spoke into the microphone once more.
“Today, we truly open Geumsan Samcheok Hospital. My apologies, honored guests. Due to an emergency, we will conclude the opening ceremony here. For your safety, anyone who is not hospital staff, please move toward the parking lot.”
The mayor of Samcheok asked with a flustered expression.
“Director, are you certain this is all right? In front of so many members of the press and guests...”
“Mayor, the true opening ceremony of Geumsan Samcheok Hospital begins not with a ribbon, but with saving patients.”
There was no wavering in Taeho’s voice.
After the guests had evacuated to a safe area, Honorary Director Kim Byeongjo picked up the hospital’s internal broadcast microphone.
“Attention, all staff. Code Orange declared. We are entering emergency response mode due to a mass casualty incident.”
An alarm that sounded only within the hospital rang out, calm yet urgent.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the hospital changed.
Head Nurse Lee Miseon removed the decorative ribbons from the opening ceremony and gave instructions to the staff.
“Set up the triage area in the first-floor lobby immediately! Nurse Kim Sujin, Nurse Lee Suyoung! Place four vital monitors and two defibrillators!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The young nurses pushed out the emergency carts that had been prepared. The tense look Nurse Kim Sujin had worn because of the opening ceremony turned serious instead, showing sharp focus.
Park Hyeonu, chief of internal medicine, walked over as he loosened his tie.
“Director.”
“If it’s a group loss of consciousness, there’s a high possibility of gas poisoning. Prepare blood gas analysis, and have antidotes for poisoning ready in advance.”
“Understood.”
“Chief Yu, please prepare the operating room. Just in case we need emergency surgery.”
“Yes!”
Yu Sihyeok, chief of surgery, nodded.
Taeho turned toward Nurse Go Hayeong.
“Nurse Go, connect a direct line to the 119 situation room, and check the status of the helipad as well.”
“It’s already connected, Director.”
Go Hayeong held up a radio. She was calm, as expected of a veteran.
“The helicopter from the Gangneung 119 Air Unit has been dispatched immediately and is expected to arrive on scene within ten minutes. It looks like patient transport will take another fifteen minutes after that.”
Taeho checked his watch.
“That means the first patient will arrive in twenty-five minutes.”
Public health doctor Lee Junho approached with a somewhat nervous expression.
“Director, what can I do to help?”
“Come with me to the helipad. We need to perform primary triage on-site immediately.”
“Yes, understood!”
There was a tremor in Lee Junho’s voice, but his determination to follow Taeho was firm.
On the rooftop, five minutes later,
The guests and reporters who had been at the ceremony had all gathered in front of the center. A situation far more gripping than a ribbon cutting was unfolding before them.
The whirring sound of helicopter rotors grew closer and closer from the sky.
The Gangneung 119 Air Unit helicopter appeared above the landing pad and began slowly lowering its altitude.
The reporters’ cameras once again began clicking in unison.
The helicopter touched down.
Taeho led the medical team and ran out onto the helipad. Public health doctor Lee Junho, Nurse Kim Sujin, and Nurse Lee Suyoung followed, pushing stretchers.
“What’s the situation?”
A paramedic who had gotten out of the helicopter reported urgently.
“We suspect a refrigerant leak from the fishing vessel’s freezer. All five lost consciousness, then regained it after oxygen was administered on-site, but their respiratory status remains unstable.”
The moment Taeho looked inside the helicopter, he activated Bio Vision in his mind.
In an instant, a spectrum of light like an aurora spread over the five patients. The biological signals from each of their bodies appeared visualized in color.
“Beginning primary triage!”
As Taeho approached the first patient, he discreetly checked the light hovering over the man’s body. A yellow glow wrapped around him overall, while a pale gray light lingered around the lungs. It was moderate toxic inhalation, but within a recoverable range.
“Patient one, alert and oriented, pulse ninety, respiration slightly rapid. Yellow tag.”
Kim Sujin attached a yellow triage tag to the patient.
The moment Taeho saw the second patient, his eyes widened. The patient’s entire body was surrounded by an ominous aurora of mingled red and purple light. In particular, the lungs and heart were pulsing with a deep violet hue, and green toxic signals flowed along the blood vessels.
“Patient two, persistent cyanosis, shallow and irregular breathing. Weak pulse.”
Pretending to take the patient’s pulse at the wrist, Taeho compiled the information he had confirmed through Bio Vision. The concentration of refrigerant gas inhaled had reached a lethal level, and cardiopulmonary function was rapidly deteriorating.
“Red tag! Highest priority for treatment!”
Lee Suyoung attached a red tag, her expression tense.
After quickly scanning the third and fourth patients, Taeho confirmed yellow auroras in both of them. Their toxicity levels were similar to that of patient one.
“Patient three yellow, patient four yellow. Patient five is...”
The moment he looked at the last patient, a man in his sixties, Taeho hesitated briefly. Yellow and orange light alternated across the patient’s body. The toxic signal in the lungs was at the yellow level, but a red signal flickered intermittently in the heart area. He seemed to have an underlying condition.
“Delayed recovery of consciousness, irregular breathing pattern. We’ll go with yellow for now.”
But in Taeho’s mind, a different judgment had already formed.
Patient five is suspected of having underlying cardiovascular disease. There’s a possibility of delayed deterioration, so he’s yellow, but he needs close observation.
“Director, what’s the transport order?”
Public health doctor Lee Junho asked.
Taeho quickly set the priorities.
“Patient two, red, is top priority! After that, five, one, three, and four, in that order!”
Lee Junho looked puzzled.
“Five first?”
“He’s suspected of having an underlying condition. He’s yellow, but he needs observation first.”
Taeho explained naturally so that others would not notice anything unusual.
Taeho took hold of patient two’s stretcher himself and said,
“I’ll bring patient two in personally. Suspected severe refrigerant poisoning. He needs immediate high-concentration oxygen therapy and detoxifying treatment.”
During the move from the helicopter to the emergency room, Taeho continued checking the patient’s respiratory status.
“Check the oxygen mask seal! Keep monitoring respiratory rate!”
When Taeho entered the emergency room with patient two, Yu Sihyeok, chief of surgery, who had been waiting, approached.
“Director, what’s the red patient’s condition?”
“It seems he inhaled the largest amount of refrigerant gas. Cyanosis is continuing. Chief Yu, please take charge of the yellow patients. I’ll see the red patient myself.”
“Understood.”
As soon as the patients came in, Head Nurse Lee Miseon took command.
“Move according to the director’s instructions! Patient two, red, to bed one. Patient five to bed two! Place the rest in order!”
Kim Sujin and Lee Suyoung each went straight to the patients and connected blood pressure cuffs and pulse monitors.
“Patient two, blood pressure seventy over forty, pulse one-twenty, oxygen saturation seventy-five percent!”
“Patient five, blood pressure eighty-eight over fifty-two, pulse ninety-eight, oxygen saturation eighty-five percent!”
As Taeho approached patient two, the red patient, he activated Bio Vision once more. Deep violet and green toxic signals were still pulsing through the patient’s body. However, they had become slightly fainter than before.
“Breath sounds are present, but shallow and irregular. Oxygen concentration to the maximum, fifteen liters!”
“Yes, Director!”
Nurse Go Hayeong immediately adjusted the oxygen flow rate.
Through Bio Vision, Taeho saw irregular red signals flickering around the patient’s heart. There was a possibility of arrhythmia.
Park Hyeonu, chief of internal medicine, examined patient five and said,
“Director, why did you raise this patient’s priority? Numerically, he looks similar to the other yellow patients...”
Taeho looked at patient five and checked again with Bio Vision. The red signal in the heart area was still appearing intermittently.
“Chief Park, did this patient complain of chest pain?”
When Park Hyeonu asked the patient, the man in his sixties weakly nodded.
“M... my chest hurts a little.”
“As expected. Run an ECG immediately. It’s highly likely the refrigerant gas acted as a stressor on an underlying heart disease.”
When Taeho gave the swift order, Park Hyeonu looked surprised.
“How did you know that?”
“From experience, cases like that happen from time to time. Secure an IV line and connect fluids.”
Yu Sihyeok, chief of surgery, was checking patient one.
“Patient one is stable. His breathing has improved a lot as well.”
Public health doctor Lee Junho reported while checking vitals beside patient three.
“Director, patient three’s oxygen saturation has risen to eighty-eight percent!”
“Good work, Dr. Lee. How is patient four?”
“Patient four is up to ninety-two percent too!”
Taeho looked at patient two again and checked with Bio Vision. The violet light remained, but the green toxic signals were gradually fading.
“Patient two’s blood toxin concentration is decreasing. But his heart rate is still unstable. Connect an arrhythmia monitor.”
Nurse Go Hayeong attached ECG electrodes to the patient’s chest.
“Director, the ECG shows premature ventricular contractions.”
“As expected, it seems the refrigerant gas has directly affected the myocardium. Prepare lidocaine.”
“Yes. Understood.”
A few minutes later, the patients’ conditions gradually began to stabilize. When he checked with Bio Vision, the toxic signals in all the patients had decreased significantly.
Honorary Director Kim Byeongjo entered the emergency room and assessed the overall situation.
“How is it?”
“Patient two was the most critical, but he’s improving with high-concentration oxygen therapy. Patient five had underlying heart disease, just as expected.”
When Taeho reported, Kim Byeongjo looked impressed.
“You handled this remarkably well in such a short time.”
“Fortunately, it looks like they’ll all get through without major problems. But we need to observe them for at least six hours. Especially patients two and five—they’ll need twelve hours of observation.”
Inwardly, Taeho was once again amazed by Bio Vision’s accuracy. He had been able to grasp in advance the details that might have been missed in ordinary treatment, making patient care far more efficient.
“Director.”
A voice came from behind him. When he turned around, the young female reporter he had seen at the opening ceremony was standing there.
“I’m Song Mira, QBC’s medical correspondent.”
She gazed at Taeho with sharp eyes and said,
“Director, it looked as if you could see inside the patients’ bodies.”